Page 36 - Fundamentals Ebook

simply with what is a word? It’s a sound that has a meaning and
you can’t understand it apart from its context. I can think a word in
my mind but you won’t know what I’m thinking. You might say, “I
can tell by the look on your face; you are surprised or you are angry
or you are discouraged or you are sad or you are happy or you are
hungry.” But unless I speak a word, you don’t know what I’m
thinking. Sometimes one word is not enough. Sometimes you need
a sentence. Sometimes you need a paragraph.

We have an expression, “In other words.” So, when Lillian wants
me to really know what she is saying, she will give me her command
and then she’ll say, “In other words,” and she’ll restate the same
command. Sometimes when the house is on fire and someone says,
“Jump!” you understand one word. If a missile is flying toward your
head and someone says, “Duck!” you understand one word.

I used to golf but I don’t anymore. I hit a lady in the head with a
golf ball and she sued me and I yelled one word, “Fore!” She didn’t
duck. It’s her fault! It was a good shot. It went over the pin, over
the fence and into the parking lot where she was putting groceries in
her car. So, that was a good shot!

One word sometimes can communicate an idea but let’s say the
word is “person”. I am thinking of a person. Who am I thinking of?
You don’t know if it’s a girl, a boy, a child or an athlete or a political
person or a character in the Bible. You need more words. You’ll
say, “I need more than ‘person’.” “I’m thinking of an animal. What
is it?” You don’t know. One word is not enough. “I’m thinking of
a plant. I’m thinking of a food.” You might say, “That’s not
enough. I need more words.” What if the word is bigger, like
“planet”. And I say, “Tell me everything about a planet.” You
would say, “Which one?”

Here’s a word; universe. I say, “Tell me everything about the
universe.” Or I say, “Tell me everything about the galaxy.” It’s one
word and it’s too big. Even “earth”, you would say, “I need to know