Cultivating Positive Words

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What do gossip and a feather pillow have in common? Let me share the following story with you:

"A parishioner went up to the priest to unload his guilt about the act of gossiping: what harm was done exactly, he asks. The priest asked the parishioner to go back home, take a feather pillow and a knife with him up onto the roof of a high building. Give it a slash and see what happens.

"The parishioner did as he was told, he took a pillow and a knife, went up onto the roof and slashed it with all his might. And lo and behold there were feathers and more feathers flying all over. The parishioner then returned to the priest to report the act was done. The priest proceeded to ask the parishioner to go back up to the roof, to RETRIEVE each and every feather that was released from the pillow.

"Of course none can do such thing. Once the feathers are free, they’ll go wherever they want to. It’s the same with words, once we utter mean statements we can’t retrieve them and put them back where they came from.

"The easier thing is to never say anything mean or hurtful in the first place."

To see the Neighborhood News for Wednesday, 22 June, please click here.

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