Your mouth runneth over

Right off the bat, the title of this post might have brought to mind someone stuffing so much food into their mouth, failing to swallow it, and having it spill out onto the table all icky and gooey—like a giant waterfall of yuck cascading out of their mouth.

Sounds like something I'd write about, but rest assured, today's post is far from that. Regardless, I hope you weren't reading this over a meal.

It just so happens that half-chewed food, loogies, spit, saliva and vomit aren't the only foul things that come out of our mouths. With many people, words can be as obnoxious as anything listed above. Words can make or break relationships. They can hurt and offend. They can threaten someone's safety and well being. And some people have no apparent control over what they say.

I like to say that we have two ears and only one mouth as a reminder to listen twice as much as we speak. A few people who know me have said that in my case I have one mouth, but four or five ears because I listen well to most people and don't say very much. Extra ears to lend, I guess. I also must admit that I passed on the opportunity to listen to loud music throughout my life, so I haven't suffered the hearing loss that many people my age have. But I'm wandering away from what I set out to write. Maybe I need a little bell around my neck.

You would think that by the time you have six decades in your rear view mirror people would stop monitoring your whatabouts, whereabouts and whenabouts, and trust that you will put on your clothes with the tags on the inside, your shoes on the right feet, and your hair combed before leaving the house. For reasons unknown to me, as of late I've been hearing an awful lot of "So-and-so* (*not their real name) told me that you [fill in normal activity in past tense]." Really?! Is your life so pathetic that you need to know everything that Eric does?

And not only me. I listen to people rip others to shreds needlessly, and for what? I can't say that I've never done that. We all have at one time or another. But I've been making a conscious effort to back away from that. What others say or do is none of my business. Sometimes I will discuss what someone is doing or has said, but it's from a "taking note of poor behavior and trying to correct it if possible" standpoint more so than one of whining about it and doing nothing else.

As for other foul mouthly discharges I was going to touch on the unnecessary and very excessive profanity in our language today, but remembered that I have already done that. Read here for that postfanity.

The Bible warns us about gossip, but we need to define exactly what gossip is. To me, unnecessary crap talking about someone with no intent other than, well, talking crap is idle gossip. Who CARES what Eugenia wore to church or that Henry's car has a mismatched hubcap? If those were safety issues or something that could embarass them, then speak privately with that person and share your concerns. Otherwise, shut up!

It may be human nature to verbally criticize and condemn others, but I think we can do better. Eleanor Roosevelt is said to have spoken these wise words: "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."

Something to think about.