Candidates for favourite words include those that resonate most powerfully with the most basic emotions—’love’, ‘mother’, ‘home’, ‘country’, ‘joy’, ‘freedom’, etc.

Mine is ‘human’, as it sums up the entire story of who we are and what we ought to be, that is, the denotation of ‘human’ gives us the factual meaning, and the connotation the aspirational meaning or the values associated with being human. It is rare that a word carries both the objective and subjective meanings, the first used in scientific studies of the human condition, such as in the origin of the human species, and the second in the social sciences, the humanities, religion and the arts, such as in exploring questions of morality and spirituality.

‘Human’ embraces the entire spectrum of human attributes, from our vulnerabilities (‘It’s only human nature to feel this way’, ‘Don’t be too hard on Tiger Woods in his wild romps; he was only being human’) to the noblest qualities of altruism, courage and perseverance (‘It is during the greatest hardships that the human spirit best asserts itself, as in the Holocaust’).

Being ‘human’ presupposes being kind and empathetic; its opposite ‘inhuman’ describes savage and cruel behaviour which is such a threat to the well-being of society that it is perceived either as a ’sin’ punishable by God, or a crime punishable by fellow human beings in their courts of justice.

The derivative of ‘humanity’ is equally resonant. It is invariably used as a rallying and unifying call, at the end of world conferences when different nations, ethnicities, cultures and political systems that have come together to try to solve world problems, are reminded that ultimately, despite their differences, they must act from ‘a shared sense of humanity’.

‘Human’ is my favourite word because as a writer, I see myself as a faithful chronicler of the human condition, sometimes exposing its dark, depressing side but always reminded of the wonderful indomitability of the human spirit.

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About Vignettes...

A continuing flow of little, readable pieces that will constitute what I feel is an important 'legacy of values' to leave behind. Read more about Vignettes...