Wow. I never cease to amaze myself with the number of people I know who are perfectly comfortable saying EXACTLY what they think. What puzzles me is why with some, I am deeply appreciative of their honesty and can laugh and with others I want to say, “ Reallllly? Was that necessary?” Seems to me, there is a fine line and an art to saying what you think in a way that doesn’t offend.
To remind myself of this, I keep the following saying in a frame by my land line (notice I didn’t say telephone? Does anyone even call it a telephone anymore? But, I digress…). I can only pray that on a good day, I remember.
The Sufis advise us to speak only after our words have managed to pass through three gates.
At the first gate, we must ask ourselves, “are these words true?” If so, we must let them pass on; if not, back they go.
At the second gate, we must ask ourselves, “are these words necessary?” If so, we let them pass on; if not, back they go.
At the last gate, we must ask, “Are they kind?”
How do you mindFULLY say what you really think? Let us know!
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