Me vs. My Mouth

It would be great if I could speak only words of kindness and love and goodwill.

But then, I open my mouth and ruin everything.

Much as I may want to not ever say anything rude, mean or ugly, it still comes out. And I just hate that.

For one thing, God knows, there’s more than enough meanness being spewed by more than enough mouths that are better left shut. There is a desperate need in these times for words that encourage and heal and unite.

But, more selfishly, I just don’t ever want to say the wrong thing. Yes, I think I should be better than that. Is that really so much to ask?

Well, of course, because I’m human, it annoyingly is.

I am trying, you know. My time here is limited, as it is for all of us, and I want to spend as much of it as I can being a voice for love and goodness to all with whom I come in contact.

And every time I fail, it angers me. I can’t help it.

I think I owe that partly to growing up in an environment that had a low tolerance for making mistakes. That makes it hard for me to accept them in myself, because I don’t see them as simple missteps on the path.

I see them as serious character flaws.

It’s just something I need to work through, the frustration I feel when I say something unkind or malicious. I know we all say them, out of anger, out of hurt, out of spite, whatever the reason. It’s an unfortunate feature of our humanity.

So, any of you who find yourself on the receiving end of my venomous tongue, please know that I’m sorry. All I can say is, I’ll try to not let it happen again.

I do love you, despite what you may hear come out of this often mischievous mouth. 🤐🤐🤐

4 thoughts on “Me vs. My Mouth

  1. I have never been on the receiving end of your “venomous tongue” (perhaps because I keep providing bacon???), but I do understand exactly where you are coming from. These, as Thomas Paine said, are the times that try men’s souls (and women’s too!). Our stress levels are high and some days all it takes is a word or a look to open the floodgates. I kick myself within minutes after saying something hurtful, but the reality is that we are only human, we have limits and lately our limits are being sorely tested. Don’t overthink it … apologize, buy the person a beer, and move on. You’re a good man, Larry, and I think that your friends all know that.

    Liked by 1 person

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