As a professional communicator, I’m always looking for that word that will stick out… the one that makes people sit up and pay attention.
Because words matter, I subscribe to Merriam-Webster’s free Word of the Day email. On August 1st, my word was risorgimento – with, or without – a capital R. Capitalize it and you’ve got a fabulous history lesson about what was happening in Italy following the French occupation and revolution.
Lowercase? It’s all about renewal, revival, and rising again. Which brings me firmly to August.
I’m a preacher’s kid and as so many PKs before me, I was, um, ‘encouraged’ to attend summer “camp revivals” with my loving but hellfire-and-brimstone preaching father. I align August with these gatherings, the places where you’re encouraged to look deeply into your soul and have what might become a day of reckoning.
August pretty much begs you to be quiet. It’s hot. It’s humid. There are thunderstorms. And lots of folks take a vacation in August – to escape before the hectic autumn season kicks in. I encourage you to use this August to create your own risorgimento. To determine what around you or within you, what in your business or your personal life –in short, what needs a risorgimento.
I could be as simple as subscribing to M-W’s email list so you can revive your vocabulary. Or it could be as impactful as starting a new movement, one that encourages listening to yourself, your children, and your community.
I welcome August, and the revival that comes with it.
