Blown Away

There is a commercial getting a lot of air time these days in which person after person has their mind blown by the featured service.

The tops of their head blow off in a brilliant jet of purple pixie dust.

In conversation, friends describe having their mind blown by the price of a product at the grocery store and lift a hand to each side of their head to begin a slow motion wave - the result of their mind being blown (figuratively).

In a culture of superlatives and hyperbole, we are on a constant treadmill of trying to quantify amazement with the latest victory, speed (or lack of it) on the daily commute, and the brilliance of our children.

In my neighborhood this week, the leaves were decidedly blown away.

The leaves which had fallen were blown into piles and scooped up to be taken by the landscaping professionals caring for our common space.

The leaves which escaped that fate by tenaciously hanging on to their trees were violently blown away with wind gusts of 60 miles an hour as a storm system passed through our area a couple days ago.

I'm all for positive and descriptive adjectives - but perhaps occasionally all of us could pump the brake a time or two before proclaiming the latest Oreo (have you tried the Pumpkin Spice flavor?) as mind blowing.

A simple, "that is tasty," might be just the ticket - which can allow us to save those incredible and indelible moments (like the birth of a grandchild - no, not mine) for truly superlative praises.