Whatever…

If you look this word up in the dictionary it tells you that it takes on a multitude of meanings. It is a pronoun. But pronouns are deceiving. Because of the world today we focus on the simplistic form pronouns take. And often the ones that currently offend the world. He, she, they, them. Simple easy to understand. I, you. Pronouns. This is the one example we can remember from our school years. I is a pronoun. No thinking about it. Now if someone talks about a dangling participle or tells you that you’ve split an infinitive, most people will smile and agree. Because your mind is actually wondering if they are speaking Greek since you have no idea what they are talking about.

As a pronoun, the word whatever is a determiner. Basically when you use the word in this way you are saying an action will take place no matter what happens. It makes no difference in the outcome. I think of Doris Day. You know, Que sera sera, whatever will be will be. We are saying anything or everything. No matter what. Great. Explains nothing really. But is that it? Well, no. You see the word whatever is also an adverb. And we know adverbs modify verbs, right? So as an adverb, Whatever is basically a negative saying no or nothing or none. Again relating back to an action. Because a verb is an action. No matter what happens or what someone says or what action takes place, no consequences or differences. Now sometimes whatever can also function as an adjective which we all remember from grade eight language arts, is another helping word. It modifies a noun. Like the determiner thing above. Basically it is saying something is unimportant. Not worth talking about or just not specific enough to care. Honestly none of this really matters to me and I am sure you are pretty bored as well. What I love about this word is its use as an interjection.

What’s that you ask? You already know. You just don’t know that you know. It is a word that expresses emotion. Yeah it can be a phrase as well but we are talking about a word here. The word interjection is basically a combination of two Latin words. Inter means between and jacere means to throw. Boom. Interjection is just a word that is thrown out there. An exclamation that disrupts the conversation. Now interjections are pretty cool because they are so diverse and really have so much in common with a lot of other parts of speech. The word like, um and of course fuck are all related to the interjections. So what is it that I love so much about this particular word? Whatever?

Well for me it is abrupt. Interjections aren’t even considered a useful part of grammar. In fact they really don’t seem to have anything to do with the ideas before or after their use. When I use it, it means I am done. Conversation over. You win. I don’t care. I am not interested. If someone continues in the same vein of conversation, I truly believe I can just walk away. I have made my point. I said whatever. Now move along. This is the most useful word for me in times of opposition and when tensions mount. It calls an end to the back and forth which can escalate so quickly you just don’t see it coming. What I am saying with this one word is that whatever the topic, I will not jeopardize my peace. Over something that really doesn’t matter. And lets face it folks. Nothing really matters. Except living each day with as little trauma and anxiety as possible.

Most importantly, I have learned that this word is my greatest defence against those who chose to try to convince me that their definition of me, is what and who I am. Because no matter what they think, they are wrong. I am not a sum total of their opinions. None of us are. And while it is fair that people will form opinions and judgements based on what they see or hear, none of it can alter what truly is going on in this earthly body I am residing in. Nor should it. This is a solitary journey that we all undertake to try and figure out what is what. While we need others as the collective consciousness is an important goal humanity strives for, there are those who are not evolved enough to help us with our journey. So ultimately when I say Whatever, I may seem rude. I may be stopping the conversation. I may appear rigid and perhaps a little focused on my ideas. But what I hear myself saying is this. You are disturbing the peace I have found in my life. And there is no alternative for me but to chose a path of lesser resistance. I find people who don’t really care about me or my well being remove themselves over time. I don’t usually have to say or do anything Then it leaves room for the ones who are walking the same path. And to those who find this offensive I just say Whatever. Que sera sera.