Speak Only with Good Purpose

India
October 1, 2008 1:37am CST
So much attention is given to the moral importance of our deeds and their effects. Those who seek to live the higher life also come to understand the oft-ignored moral power of our words. One of the clearest, thinkk marks of the moral life is right speech. Perfecting our speech is one of the keystones of an authentic spiritual program. First and foremost, think before you speak to make sure are speaking with good purpose. Glib talk disrespects others. Breezy self-disclosure disrespects yourself. So many people feel compelled to give voice to any passing feeling, thought or impression they have. They randomly dump the contents of their minds withour regard to the consequeces. This is practically and morally dangerous. If we babble about every idea that occurs to us--big and small--we can easily fritter away in the trival currents mindless talk ideas that have true merit. Unchecked speech is like a vehicle wildly lurching out of control and destined for a ditch. If need be, be mostly silent or speak sparingly. Speech itself is neither good or evil, but it is so commonly used carelessly that you need to be on your guard. Frivolous talk is hurtful talk; besides, it is unbecoming to be a chatterbox. Enter into discussions when social or professional occasion calls for it, but be cautious that the spirit and intent of the discussion and its content remain worthy. Prattle seductive. Stay out of its clutches. It's not neccessary to restrict yourself to loftly subjects or philosophy all the time, but be aware that the common babbling that passes for worthwhile discussion has a corrosive effect on your higher purpose. When we blather about trival things, we ourselves become trival, for our attention gets taken up with trivialities. You become what you give your attention to. We become small-minded if we engage in discussion about other people. In particular, avoid blaming, praising, or comparing people. Try whenever possible, if you notice the conversation around you decaying into palaver, to see if you subtly lead the conversation back to more constructive subjects. If, however, you find yourself among different strangers, you can simply remain silent. Be of good humour and enjoy a good laugh when it is apt, but avoid the kind of unrestraned barroom laughter that easily degenerates into vulgarity or malevolence. Laugh with, but never laugh at. If you can, avoid making idle promises whenever possible. Please share ur opinions and coments on this Discussion Thank you
1 person likes this
1 response
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
1 Oct 08
I agree with most of that, I do believe what we say is putting it out there so to speak so we should only say the positive things...I do believe a lot of people these days could do a lot more listening as there doesn't seem to be a lot of that around these days...bringing people down in conversation is another no no, and as you say good humour is good so long as it is not at someone elses wxpense which sadly happens a lot these days too...