I don’t use the word often: overwhelmed. Apparently, neither do many of us. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (which is the only one I will use since reading the marvelous The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams) it occurs only once in every one million words. Also, according to the OED, the adjective actually has only one meaning: Overwhelmed, overcome, overpowered, or submerged. However, the quotations offered show that the experience of being overwhelmed can range from life-threatening to sublime.
Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed, in the sense of being swept off my feet by joy and also drowning in work.
Oxford offers many examples, one of its charming features. These seem to fit my current state.
1581
Overwhelmed with a perpetuall dazellnes of sight.
J. Bell translation of W. Haddon & J. Foxe, Against Jerome Osorius
2005
[She] admits being overwhelmed by the confusion on her desk which, to even a non-expert eye, is cry…
Metro
My mind is both dazzled and cluttered. Dazzled with the realization that my debut novel, Hatfield 1677, will be published next month. Dazzled by the heartfelt testimonials it has received, the excitement of the Hatfield museum in Hatfield, Massachusetts, the setting of the novel, and their graciousness in hosting me as a speaker. Dazzled by invitations from the Hatfield museum and my local Page 158 Books to speak and sign books. Dazzled by, for want of a better word, hard-earned success. Dazzled in receiving three full manuscript requests from New York Literary agents in only two dozen queries sent out for my next novel, Echoes.
Yet my mind is also cluttered. Cluttered with all that needs to be done for Hatfield 1677: promotions on social media, blog tours, and author profiles. Cluttered with researching agents for Echoes so that I can personalize my queries and find an agent who will love my second-born book. And cluttered with the day to day. A beloved senior dog who, in the past week, has suffered from serious issues with his arthritic hind legs and his sensitive digestion. Cluttered with the demands of my role as secretary of my homeowners’ association, which is eerily similar at times to a role on the 1980s prime-time soap opera Knots Landing. My soul is cluttered with the drama.
Dazzled is good. I can bask in the light of my good fortune and seek shelter when it overwhelms me. As to the clutter, perhaps a bit of prioritizing will ease my stress. After all, there will be more overwhelming moments in my future, both dazzling and disorienting, as there are in any life.
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