KEEP THE OLD WARM

“Raise you words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” – Rumi

Everyday we are likely to meet with the temptation to raise our voice. Anger, frustration, pain, envy, confusion, hatred….a number of feelings can spark the fire or wrath unleashed in the form of loud speech.

Not only do we lose our peace of mind and self control, but we are and appear to others as weak and unreliable. We are likely to harm both them and ourselves.

If we cannot control our emotions and the volume of our words, how are we to be trusted or respected? How are we to avoid hatred, resentment, and eventual conflict? How is a civilization expected to flourish with such speech?

On the flip side, if we can control our emotions and the volume of our words, we will be trusted and respected. We will avoid hatred, resentment, and conflict. Our civilization will improve word by word.

Moreover, we will proud of ourselves. We see ourselves controlling our impulses and recognize that we maintained the strength and grace to not lose our temper and shout.

It is an incredible feeling to remain calm when we are tempted to unleash our wrath in our words. We exit the situation standing taller, without regret, and are able to continue our lives in peace.

Such skill is essential to all our lives, and our civilization. It will only improve any and all difficult situations we find ourselves in. Relationships will flourish.

In this quote, Rumi narrows in on speech, for that is where all good or ill things begin. When our tongue lashes fire and seeks to harm others, or maintains its grace and seeks truth, justice, and love. That is where bad seeds are planted and our character cracks, or good seeds are planted and our character strengthens.

Find the right words to express ourselves and express them in a strong, yet calm manner. If we raise our volume and not our words, we must expect everything to be worse of for ourselves and others.

Quiet words of strength, not weak words of wrath.

Gentle rain, not thunder, lightning, and pain.