Being Original

Growing up, I had an aunt who, it seemed, nearly every time I saw her would exclaim how I was "Growing like a weed!" As the years passed and I, along with her children, grew up and eventually had children of our own, she would continue to note how all these young ones were - wait for it - growing like a you-know-what. I remember thinking how annoying that was. Couldn't she think of any thing else to say? I wondered. Was that the only way to note how much taller people were compared with the last time you saw them? For my aunt, I suppose, the answer was "yes." Perhaps because of her, nowadays I find myself avoiding that phrase (except, of course, when I am commenting on how fasts weeds in our yard grow).

Reflecting on my aunt's use of that particular cliché, I am reminded how often all of us rely on well-worn phrases to express ourselves or, at the very least, fall back-on in various situations. "I'm still kickin'," is a phrase I use a lot when asked how I am doing. In his just-released autobiography, Bruce Springsteen talked some about his early song-writing days. "I started out with cliche', cliche', cliche' and then I caught a piece of myself  and the moment."  To me, this illustrates Springsteen's effort to find his own voice, communicate in a way that best captured his own feelings and perspectives. Unlike my aunt, he was not content to express himself in ways done by countless others.

Originality is not easy. More often, the path to the unfamiliar is traveled what is familiar. After all, what better way to recognize that which is unknown then by having a firm grasp of what is known? Even attempting to step into unchartered territory in the use of words is risky and most definitely without promise of success. This is why I applaud those who try and do so more vigorously who do so successfully. If communication represents a fundamental way for all of us to express ourselves, then trying to do so in a way no one before you has tried is downright admirable.