We were all raised differently and we were taught to believe things that others may not believe or agree with. The freedom to have different opinions and ideas about certain things is what helps us to grow. For so many reasons the things we were taught from our parents, friends and others come from many different backgrounds, meaning some advice comes from a survival and safety standpoint and some come from religion and the beliefs from those we come to respect and consider to be leaders. As we get older we form our own opinions of what we like and dislike, what we believe to be valuable to us and our families. All the teachings were taught with love and with the hope that as we continue through this journey called life the things we were taught will go with us ultimately making our lives better in every aspect of our lives.
The tongue as we know is used to communicate how we feel about things and to express certain opinions about whatever topic we are discussing at the time. The tongue is a tool used to relay messages from our brain and into the ears of those who are participating in the discussion at hand. The tongue has ways of expressing loving feelings and hope. The tongue is used to teach, to taste, to kiss and other wonderful things that makes us feel good! All in all the tongue is a blessing and we should thank God for providing us with this tool of communication.
Often times we come across someone or some type of subject that we don't agree with and we began to engage in conversations that will allow us to express our opinions of the matter. As the conversations move along they become heated battles of who is right and who is wrong and why I'm right and you're wrong. The intensity of the discussion becomes so heated that it no longer is being used to come to an understanding, but it has become a war of words and the chosen words are those of the belittling kind. This is not the type of discussion where someone is looking to understand and come to an agreement, this is one that is used to chop you down, make you look bad and by all means allow you or them to win the argument. As we all know the tongue is one of the strongest forms of verbal weaponry and it can cut like the sharpest knife in the block. The tongue can be used to verbally insult, downgrade, attack and just down right embarrass and destroy a person. The words spoken can't be taken back and once you put those words out into the atmosphere, those words take on a negative meaning and they stick, destroying the relationship and the ability to agree to disagree. Those negative words that came out of that person's mouth are what they really think about you, so pay close attention to what is being said. You may have just lost a homie, lover, friend! The tongue is sharp as a Ginsu Knife and it will cut you down, so chose your words wisely unless you just don't care.
The ears are the blessing and the tool everyone needs to use more often. Instead of going for the verbal jugular trying to destroy your opponent maybe listening would be better suited in order to save the relationship and also to maybe grasp an understanding of what the other person is trying to say. By listening you tend to learn some new things that maybe you never thought about. It may give you a new perspective on the person, place or thing you are discussing. The ears never hurt anyone and never caused damage to a person's being of any kind. The ability to listen and not response is one of the most mature things a person can do. Sadly enough there are a lot of people who jump on the defensive side of everything and listening isn't one of their better behaviors. Understanding should be the common goal in all conversations. I know it may be easily said than done, but it can be done and it can be helping in your maturation of the things you may not understand. Sometimes listening without talking can be the greatest thing ever as the person sometimes can hear themselves speaking and they can hear how ignorant they are sounding. Listening with an ear to learn and understand will help with maintaining the relationship or help create a new relationship.
Sometimes you have to put that blade we call a tongue away and use our ears to better help us in our attempts to understand others. It's growth! It's so much better than hollering and screaming to get your point across. Now don't get me wrong none of us are perfect so there may be times necessary to chop a person down because of their ignorant statements or actions. Choose wisely and let's try to understand each other. I always said that if a racist would shut their mouths for a minute and listened to those they feel they have a problem with they would be amazed at how much they have in common. That's another story and maybe I will write about it later. Soften the tongue and lean in with a open ear to create peace, joy and happiness. WSY? RELATIONSHIPS! Keep it Positive!
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