PENnED

I like the Japanese word choku (shown above in kanji; in kana, ちょく).  It means simplicity, honesty, frankness, correctness.

In this complex world, we can keep our sanity by keeping things simple. Simple lifestyle. Simple food. Simple pleasures. Simple anything. I think that even profound thoughts can—and should—be expressed simply and beautifully. In truth, verbosity can bury a good idea. And ideas are to be shared with everyone: the intellectually sophisticated individual, a simple person, and the simple-minded one.

I like the word because it also expresses how we should deal with one another: with honesty and frankness. In being direct and passionate for correctness, however, we may hurt another person’s feelings and damage the relationship. Happily, this is where choku also comes to the rescue! Alternately, the word means “to fix or repair.” And perhaps what needs repair can be fixed especially if we “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

Now I think I’m really attracted to choku, not just as a word but as a way of life.