Did I Really Say That?

Ever say something stupid? How about something inappropriate? I don't know about you, but I can't even begin to count the very thoughtless or completely inappropriate things I've uttered. At 36, I've yet to learn to keep my mouth shut. One might assume that being a blabbering fool at times might lend me to be gracious to those who say hurtful or inapproriate things to me. Nope. Not hardly. It 's much easier to be offended, isn't it? Play the victim, ask others for "prayer" in dealing with the situation, right? Get some sympathy. Well, maybe you've never been there, but I have had parties there. Eventually, inevitably, conviction sets in and I'm embarrassed by my self-centered behavior. Here is one of my very favorite quotes. It comforts me when I put my foot in my mouth, and counsels me when I am offended and harboring resentment.

"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressable comfort of feeling safe with a person: Having to neither weigh thoughts or measure words, but to pour them all out just as they are-chaf and grain together-knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away."

-George Eliot