ASPIRATION

THE latest buzz-words include “aspire” and “aspiration”.

Aspiration is, according to The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, “n(oun) drawing of breath; desire (for, after); action of aspirating (L(atin) aspirato)”.

However, a much later edition of The Australian Oxford Mini Thesaurus lists synonyms for aspiration as, “noun - aim, ambition, desire, dream, hanker after, hope for, objective, wish”; there is no mention of drawing breath. Note: COD 1965 defines “inspiration” as; “n(oun) drawing in of breath; ---; sudden happy idea; inspiring principal”.

AOMT synonyms “ambition” and “objective” above, imply presence of stimulation prompting ongoing personal or group action in an endeavour to achieve a desired goal/aspiration; while from AOMT definitions: “dream, hope and wish”, one can infer an A(ustralian) notion of “No worries, she’ll be right mate”.

Well-worn by now is continued mention of “alternative facts” and “fake news”, referring to past events and various aspirations for the future.

Some alternative arguments pertaining to any future event will undoubtedly be true, by virtue of judicious selection of supporting data; “A half-truth told with bad (?) intent, beats all the lies one can invent.”. It would evidently not be regarded as bad by the teller if it advanced achievement of their/the groups aspiration.

From the above, aspirants fall into three general categories: proactive, reactive and inactive.

An individual’s continued “respiration” is a must, to pursue one’s aspiration/s. In---, Out--.

JOHN LARKIN, Toowoomba