I love words. One word I’ve always warmed to is Mnemonics. Mnemonics (pronounced without the M) means “to assist the memory”. So at school we had an early Menonic in algebra. A word made up was BODMAS and as you can see 45 years on I still recall that word. One had to remember what order to carry out mathematical equations. Brackets, division, minus, addition and subtraction (BODMAS)
I personally extended this Mnemonic method to all forms of my life where I needed to remember processes. In the RAAF for example or the prisons I’d apply it to safety proceedures, in Fire stations I’d apply it to the danger level of chemicals in storage warehouses. It has served me well rather than remembering 1-20 chemicals I’d make up a word.
And as time has gone on I’ve modified this so it slots in with my method of thinking. Australian cricket is a fine example. Every 4 years we play against England for the “ashes”. The “ashes”…a tiny urn the size little bigger than a golf ball, said to contain the ashes of wickets burned in Sunbury many decades ago. Both countries fight for the honour of that urn! a symbolic token albeit historic
Apply that symbolism to the mind is no different. Remember the saying “it’s the thought that counts”? Give a lady a rose you picked from your garden on Valentines day should be admired probably more than flower sent by courier? (and cheaper). What about a tiny daisy held in your hand as you return indoors to apologise for something? Symbolic tokens that can change the course of your life, it can be that powerful.
A post here by you the member can change anothers life. The humility of that is that you would not likely ever know. Humility, one of lifes most fabulous gifts. Hundreds could read it…they might not reply but they have absorbed your words.
Symbolism can be effectively used as a positive thinking aid. It took me a long time to get my head around this. How can you turn things from negative to positive. It's got to the stage now that I pity those that cannot as it is truly life changing.
As an example. Upset one day I sat on my garden seat tears falling. I picked a flower.
PROBLEM FLOWER
Of all my problems
I pick a daisy flower
I take a petal for each of my woes
and count them by the hour
And when finished this flower destroyed
my problems as big as a city tower
I thought I had lots of issues
but not as many as that flower...
Using a destroyed flower as a symbolic token.
Tony WK
