Any Other Name

Shakespeare wrote, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. ”

This is such a fitting place to begin our Any Other Name blog. Shakespeare was right in a literal sense - the rose itself doesn’t change. - however, our experience of it often does. What we name or call things has a curious way of shaping how we see them. (Just try calling that same rose a weed or a cactus long enough, and it might start hanging its petals a little lower in your mind!)

Names matter. The words we attach to people, situations, and even ourselves quietly shape the way we experience them. Like calling rain “liquid sunshine” or a “bleak drizzle.”  Same rain, different feeling.

Sheri: I prefer “liquid sunshine.” It just sounds hopeful and inviting.

Bill: I recently renamed “exercise” as “play.” Now when I head to the gym or out for a walk, it feels less like punishment and more like recess. Funny how that works.

A fish once called the “Patagonian Toothfish” wasn’t selling very well. Apparently, people didn’t rush out to order something that sounded like it might bite them back. So, marketers renamed it “Chilean Sea Bass.” Suddenly it became a menu favorite at expensive restaurants. Same fish, better name.

We do it too. Before speaking in public you might find your heart racing, your palms sweating, and your stomach flipping. Just call it “anxiety” and you’re toast. Call it “excitement” and suddenly it becomes useful energy that adds a little spark to your speech.

So, it might be worth remembering the next time we plan our day, face our challenges, or stare at ourselves the mirror, the names we choose have a way of shaping the story we live in.

Oh well. Enough of this name calling. Time to go play!

Sheri & Bill, Storytellers in Word Image and Song

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Positive Reflections...

“We live in a world of names and labels.” — Hermann Hesse

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” — Ludwig Wittgenstein

“The words we choose become the lens through which we see life.” – Sheri & Bill

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