Of all the words in the English language, the word “ship” must surely be among (if not) the most adaptable to the most unrelated meanings.
The word itself is defined as a large, seaworthy vessel, but also refers to a ship’s officers and crew. The ship also denotes the transporting of goods by air, land, and sea. But far more prolific are the meanings when used as a suffix as:
Membership – a body of members at large of any organization, religious, social, civic, or other particular groups of like-minded individuals.
Friendship – the increasingly rare state of being friendly or being just friends–is a state often lost in an attempt at creating.
Relationships – a closer connection between friends which invariably gets entwined in emotional entanglement from which some seldom survive.
Hardship – Suffering and privation; the state of being deprived of what is needed for existence–sometimes unavoidable but often self-imposed through bad or poor judgment, arrangement of priorities, inability or refusal to accept certain realities.
Stewardship–the office, duties, and obligations of a steward whose individual responsibility is to manage his life and property with proper regard for the rights of others.
Trusteeship – The act of legally being entrusted with funds or property to be administered for the benefit of another…and the beat goes on and on, Regardless of the word, however, the “ship” suffix generally places a common denominator to it which adds the power of added responsibility. How this added responsibility is handled is the determining factor of one’s self-esteem (or lack of), one’s contentment, or unrest.
It all reverts to the original definition of “ship” as a large, seaworthy vessel. If as a suffix that ship is not seaworthy it must sink along with whatever or whoever is attached to it – which brings us to:
Survivorship – The ability to live beyond the ordinary or expected life span of; beyond the life of another or against all odds. But of prime importance is:
Fellowship – Community of interest; Companionship, a body of fellows; communion; friendliness, etc. “It behooveth man to adhere tenaciously unto that which will promote fellowship, kindliness, and unity,” we read in the Baha’i Holy Writings, for “We are all the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch,” Then deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship.
