Audio Version
I was dreaming of being in a place where the few survivors seemed to be constantly concerned about their lives. It appeared rather dystopian.
It was abstract, though, because every interaction was infused with philosophical and existential themes. Perhaps being restricted to such a sparse existence called into question the very nature of the reasons for living.
I trust you.
As I wake up, I’m thinking about the three ways this phrase can be used — as in, in a specific circumstance or scene that necessitated a deferment to someone who held sway in the coming moments or days of our shared survival or destruction. There was a sense of somber heaviness.
It has at least three meanings/uses:
I trust you to be you. In effect, I don’t trust you. Because I know your character and your behavior patterns — or because I understand human nature and am aware of the circumstances and how they have conditioned you — I trust that you will act in a certain way. An implicit, or perhaps duplicitous, manipulative trust.
I trust you — or rather, I entrust you; I inveigle you; I defer to you because I prefer not to be responsible for the decision. An explicit trust.
I trust you. I believe in you; I depend on you as my peer, my comrade, and my brother to stand beside me. An implicit, intimate, existential trust.
. . .
How we use and utilize language fascinates me. I’ve noticed changes in my language over the last decade — even in the past few years — as a result of increased reading and research for my own benefit and the improvement of this blog.
English, in particular (perhaps our modern lingua franca), is a jumbled mess, the result of centuries of diverse cultural influences, alternate spellings across commonwealths and past colonies, and the natural progression of meaning and definition change. As a more universal language, and with the rise of information and technology, it is once again transmuting right in front of our eyes. Social media, text messaging, and emojis all change the way we communicate. One wonders what it will be like in the near future, given the shift away from handwriting and toward hands-free and voice-activated technology, as well as likely experiments in direct neural linkage. That’s a different and more complicated discussion; I believe there is some confusion about what is “better” for a human being: increased contextual and conscious awareness, or improved cognitive ability and function.
We live in interesting times.
Solvitur ambulando