The Greatest Gift I Know – by Laura

The greatest gift I know of is the gift of language, both written and spoken.  My own language, English, is, or at least can be, absolutely beautiful when used correctly. It has so many nuances and shades and possibilities that one would be hard pressed to run out of eloquent ways to express oneself.  Whether in a poem or essay, a song or a novel, words can flow like a brook in a meadow reaching for an ocean of meaning in this sometimes chaotic and confusing world.  Yet so many people, especially the young, abuse the privilege of being able to speak and write.  It saddens me to hear the horrible profanity that comes from the mouths of teenagers and young adults and I wonder what they’re being taught in schools these days.  In my day a lot of emphasis was put on learning good language skills as a key to being successful in life.  Whenever I hear a group of young people talking today I wish I had a stack of dictionaries to pass out to them with the suggestion they study them to learn how language can be used in a heartfelt and soul touching way.  Maybe if people learned to communicate better there would be fewer conflicts between people and countries and fewer wars.  Maybe schools should turn off their computers and open up grammar text books.  it would open up a new and more human world.