Moderation

painting by Carol Dickie

A dear friend tells me of an odd thing which is happening. A woman came into her downtown shop and they hit it off right away, enjoying a conversation and looking forward to the next time they talked. They exchanged phone numbers. Now this woman is calling my friend and texting her numerous times a day — sometimes more than 30 texts! As she told me about it, she said she didn’t want to be rude to the woman, but couldn’t possibly talk that much to anyone. She also mentioned that she had decided it might be her purpose to listen to this woman. While pondering her story, I remembered an event concerning excess communications. Years ago, I was driving a van full of young teenagers to south central Arkansas, about six hours away from home. One of the boys was talking incessantly. After a few hours, I pulled over and turned to him and said, “Everything that goes through your head does NOT need to come out of your mouth!”. Years later, he told me this was one of the best things anyone had ever said to him. Of course, we don’t want to be rude to people, but we also don’t need to enable bad habits. As with most everything in this life, moderation is the key. I continue to listen for inner guidance on handling these situations. Feel free to let me know your thoughts! Namaste...

“If a friend informs us of a fault, do we listen patiently to the rebuke and credit what is said? Do we not rather give thanks that we are ‘not as other men’? During many years the author has been most grateful for merited rebuke. The wrong lies in unmerited censure, — in the falsehood which does no one any good.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 8:30