Silence and mindful speech or Shtikah-Shmirot HaLashon are so important to practice. Hurtful words spoken to someone’s face of behind their back end up hurting both the victim and the speaker. Written in the form of a letter, text, email, facebook, etc. can be just as hurtful causing the same shame, anger and regret. Hurtful words can be a form of bullying and have led to teen suicides. Once spoken or written they cannot be reclaimed. Words that appear on the internet are there forever. They can be read again today, tomorrow and next year. They can be shared with others so easily with today’s technology.
I find that I am practicing this more with my own family. I am being silent and thinking about what I
will say instead of responding quickly - maybe with anger, sarcasm or something
not well thought out. I am sending
less texts and emails, making sure that
they are really necessary. When speaking
of my family to others, I am trying harder to relate the good things that have
happened. This sometimes is very
challenging.
Why not make words memorable in a positive way? Practice silence and say or write nothing
until it can be framed positively - something that makes us proud. Then come Yom Kippur, we will be asking
forgiveness of fewer people.
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