These thoughts written in 2009 still ring very true to me today. It is still my greatest desire to master my tongue and keep the name of others safe.
Which is why I was moved when I recently heard the following words spoken by Maya Angelou…
“You can put some words together and make people want to go to war. Take another few words and make them long for peace.”
These words pierced my soul. Not just from pondering the power of words to send nations to war, but also on a much more personal level as I realized that the words I choose to speak have the power to stir up hearts for either good or evil–compassion or contempt.
And I long, with all of my heart, to speak words of peace.
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I’ve gotcha…
June 30, 2009
He wanted to go down the water slide again and again today and each time he shot round the curve I’d see his look of terror turn into a beaming smile when he saw me there, waiting at the bottom to catch him. It made my heart overflow to know that to him I mean security, a soft place to land. I make him feel safe, what an honor that is.
.
At a recent funeral I attended it was said of this man that he would “keep your name safe”. In other words he would not talk badly of others. I loved the idea of keeping someone’s name safe. What a beautiful thought this is. Of all of my goals (and I have many) I think this is the one that I desire to master the very most.
I long for the day when I will have complete control over my tongue and never speak ill of another person. I had several chances to speak unkindly about others today. For some I passed, becoming a champion of their causes, and for others I crumbled, letting my two cents drool out with little control.
.
I liked talking nice so much better. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy about myself and the people I worked to defend.
We all want (and need) someone on our side, and I want to be the person that makes people smile when they come round the curve because they’ll know, when they see me waiting there, that they just found a soft place to land.