Shock-horror, a regular blog type post from me !

 

Take vs. Have

 

Over the years the UK becomes more and more Americanised, rather than just absorbing the cultural references.

There are many aspects that encourage this, such as the UK market being saturated by “educational” toys and TV shows that teach US culture and vocabulary.

To quote a well worn phrase, “Personally I blame the parents”, as it used to be the parents that taught the basics instead of machines.

There is nothing stopping them still doing so, but the TV and toys are easier.

 

Underneath all the obvious stuff is something more subtle and worrying for a cultural psyche.

The unassuming swap from using the word “have” to the word “take”.

They are of a different context, and often the swap makes a sentence make no grammatical sense.

However the comedy of wondering why and where Americans are taking a poo, when the rest of us leave it where we deposit it, is not my point.
…and as for why Americans keep breaking their food and having to fix it, is beyond me.

 

My concern is about the negative and selfish connotation of “taking” everything from life, or a given situation, rather than “receiving” or experiencing what it is to “have” rather than “take”.
I am sure that Buddhists and Pagans understand this clearly.

People don’t register it in conversation as it is so common and minor, but I think it has more of an impact in the long-term, as all expressions of doing anything or engaging in something are referred to in a one-way and always inward direction.

We are a greedy bunch of no-tail-monkeys with high expectations of what life owes us.
It does not need constant reinforcement with the way we speak.

I see it as an “echo-chamber” effect, and so live by this principal;

“Speak positively about your life and experiences, and your life will be more positive. Speak negatively and your life will be more negative”.