thependulumswings

We are wondering if we have been too hard on the month of February lately.  After all February makes us appreciate almost all of the other months more.  And, at least its only 28 days long(short).  So, there is that going for it.  Every day cannot be utopia.  Utopia?  Now there is an often spoken word that makes us wonder as well.  What does utopia mean, and what is the origin of its meaning?

Meaning: it’s a great place that doesn’t exist

History:  In 1516 Sir Thomas More wrote the first ‘Utopia‘. He coined the word ‘utopia‘ from the Greek ou-topos meaning ‘no place’ or ‘nowhere’. But this was a pun – the almost identical Greek word eu-topos means a good place. So at the very heart of the word is a vital question: can a perfect world ever be realized?

Can a perfect world ever be realized?  Probably not would be our guess, but we can hope.  But if indeed we fall short it’s no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water is it?

Meaning: Hang on to valuable things when getting rid of unnecessary things

History: During Medieval times most people bathed only once a year. Even when they did bathe, the entire family used the same tub full of water. The man of the house bathed first, followed by other males, then females, and finally the babies. You can imagine how thick and cloudy the water became by that time, so the infants’ mothers had to take care not to throw them out with the bath water when they emptied the tub.

Or so the story goes.

Perhaps we should strive for utopia after all.  Because in a perfect world, or even an imperfect one, we should probably bath more than once a year.  We’ve come a long way.  but, we’ve got a long ways to go.