Proverb: Think Before You Speak

Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.

Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.

Ecclesiastes 10:20 

My father, Clancy, seemed to have a pithy saying for just about every circumstance in life, and he had his own take on the proverb above:  Turn on your mind before putting your mouth in gear.  Dad's big mantra was always THINK FIRST.  Never say or do anything until you have taken the time to think it through.

The other trait that was so unusual about my father was his circumspect conversation about other people.  Dad never gossiped.  He never talked about other people behind their backs, never laughed at their peculiarities or their problems, never repeated stories that he heard from another source.  He was raised to respect his fellow men, then spent 38 years in the military reinforcing that respect.  He believed in the chain of command, he supported his fellow airmen, and he was respected by everyone that met him. Well, almost everyone. 

The only person that I know of who did not like my dad was his own brother, whom we'll call John.  Although raised in the exact same household by the same two parents, my father and my uncle could not have been more opposite.  John coveted power and control, was willing to step on anyone in order to get it, and found other human beings and their misery great fodder for conversation.  He would not lift a finger to help another human being unless there was something in it for him, and he had a lot to say about everyone, including Dad.  

Perhaps that is why Dad always taught his children to think before they speak, to talk about issues - not people, and to spread kindness wherever there was a need.