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Today's
Meditation:
I
don't think there are too many more important thoughts
than this one as far as maintaining healthy relationships
is concerned. There are so many things that, had
they been left unsaid, might have prevented many, many
very difficult problems. I know that in my life
there are many words that I wished almost immediately that
I hadn't said, and many that I regretted after spending
some time considering them later. I've seen
reactions to my words that I never would have expected--
often in very negative ways.
Sometimes
we say things for reasons that aren't exactly noble.
We may want to make someone look bad or feel bad, or we
may want to show someone up or expose their ignorance or
hypocrisy. We may simply want to impress others with
our wit or insight. None of these reasons for
speaking, though, really have noble or positive motives
behind them.
On
the other hand, some of the times that I've felt the best
about myself have been those times when I've stayed quiet,
when I haven't said something that's come to mind.
I've let someone else continue talking without correction
or interruption, and the results have been amazingly
positive. My input not only was not necessary, but
it might have been somewhat destructive if I had put in my
two cents' worth.
While
we almost always speak with the best of intentions,
we have to keep in mind that intentions don't always bring
about the desired results. And if we keep that in
mind, we may be able to stay silent and be much more
helpful to situations in doing so.
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