Words On Words Part I

Words.  Sigh. I believe in honesty. I also believe in kindness. They say that you can say anything if you say it kindly.  But sometimes we don't say what we need to and want to to someone else in order to protect... ourselves (and sometimes because our silence is actually kindest for the other person).

There are two types of people, those who say it all straight and don't care or maybe even like if they ruffle feathers.  These types value true over all; some might call them Gevurah types.  Then there are those that bend what they think into soft soft words before saying them. They try to be kind but are sometimes mistaken in how they place kindness over all, even truth.  These are the Chesed types.

Saying the right thing the right way is very challenging. One of the most meaningful compliments that I remember receiving in my life came from the neighbor of a friend.  His wife had tragically passed away and I was spending time with him and his neighbor said she had watched me and saw that I always knew the right thing to say.  That was a wow becomes sometimes I really struggle with saying things.  Sometimes I retreat from the struggle and hide.

We don't want to be hiding in life. When we hide what we seek hides too.  We want to be showing who we are. And yet we want to be kind.

Also pertinent is what we think, and feel.  Much of what we say and don't say and even of what we hear being said takes place inside our imagination...