Think about a time when you put your foot in your mouth - you said too much - you saw that line that said do not cross and you just went right past it. How long did that moment haunt you? If you can still remember it now, which I think most people can remember at least one instance, that speaks to the power of your words to be a blessing or a curse - to others, yes, but also to yourself.
Think about a time when you held your tongue. You knew exactly what you wanted to say and you didn't say it, you just kept it to yourself. Can you remember? For me, those moments are much more difficult to remember. I think that, probably, most things I felt compelled to say in the moment and refrained were probably not as important as they felt at the time.
Last situation on my mind today - Think about a time when you didn't have the right words until, oh, about 30 seconds after you needed them. Someone chews you out and you don't have the words to defend yourself or to tell them what a loser they are. After the fact, you can think of a million smart things to say to them... but it's too late. I think those moments are blessings. I remember far more instances in which I said the witty thing in the moment and regretted it than instances in which I didn't know what to say till after the fact.
My mom always said that running your mouth is like taking a feather pillow, going to your roof, and pouring the feathers out, setting them free to fall where they will. Try as you might, you will never get all of the feathers gathered up again. That pillow will never be the same. Likewise, a word that is spoken in anger or out of turn is something that you can never take back. You can apologize, and sometimes you can find a way to move past those foolish words - but you can't take them back.
Hopefully my "Foot in Mouth Disease" will pass soon. I think I've learned my lesson.
♥
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