We know that even a harsh tone can crush the spirit. The words we use towards others don’t just affect them. Just as you can’t un-shoot a gun, you can’t un-say a word. Once our words have been released, we are either going to be charged with the task of making amends or we will bask in the joys of their reception.
Our lives can be made much sweeter if we are more careful with the words we choose. Sometimes silence speaks volumes. In music, a rest is an interval of silence in a piece of music. The silence or “rests” in a piece of music is as important as the notes played. They are even given their own symbols correlating to the length of the rest. If you are unable to create harmony and beauty with your words, perhaps a childhood lesson with better staying power is in order: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
Photo by Hossein Attar