THE SERIOUS WORTH OF SILLY“Serious things cannot be understood without humorous things Nor opposites without opposites.” Plato
Silly things can help us to achieve important things. Today will be a silly day.
Echo-words are so much fun to say. They feel good on our tongue and often make us laugh -- at least when we first hear them. I just learned term argy-bargy, and I laughed when I heard it. It means an argument or to argue; it’s both a noun and a verb. Its cousin is argle-bargle with same definition.
Argy came from argument and then it picked up an echo along way and became argy-bargy. Can you imagine possible results when you begin to use term? “Let’s not argy-bargy.” That alone might defuse any tense situation. Incorporate it into your vocabulary and enjoy pattern interrupt whenever you use it.
Hurly-burly is another echo-word. Hurly comes from root meaning to howl. Sometime in history burly joined hurly because it rhymed. We seem to like echo words -- hodge-podge, wishy-washy, what else?
A BUNCH OF GIBBERISH
Make an echo for your name. Make several. Say aloud: “My name is Julie-bulie, or Stephanie-yephanie, or Richard-slichard [use your own name, of course].” You are messing around and messing around is good. Messing around loosens up paths in your brain and habits of your tongue. Messing around supports your creativity.
“I like nonsense. It breaks up brain cells.” Dr. Seuss
Now for more messing around, more creativity push-ups. Talk gibberish. Say only nonsense syllables. If you have trouble starting, take each of vowels sounds and use variations of them. O, zo, po, kwo, ifmo, noto, tooro, ogtolopo.
You might want to find a friend and have a whole conversation in gibberish. You will be surprised at level of communication. (We often use gibberish in training programs to how much of communication is nonverbal.) And you will surprised at how much you will laugh. Remember all those gifts that laughter gives you?