A thought pops into my mind. Said thought exits my mouth. I often find myself word vomiting as such. Just because a thought enters my mind, does not mean that it needs to exit my mouth. Filter, Jackie, filter. I’ve become acutely aware that I often speak too much. I think out loud. Even more dissatisfying is my choice of words. Unfortunately words are lasting. It’s hard for me to swallow that sometimes because the way we feel about something or someone is usually less permanent. Our feelings are liable to change for a multitude of reasons, whether slightly or drastically. Our words, once they escape our lips, can’t be changed. Reminds me quite a bit of a post I wrote several years ago called, Feathers in the Wind. I must learn to better choose my words.

What I find most frustrating about this dilemma is that I often dwell on something very minor, but I put a voice behind it and all of a sudden the issue appears as if it’s major because it has a voice pushing it out into the open. All the while, my heart is focused on a different agenda. My heart has the ability to overlook the irritations that I’ve voiced, but you can see the trouble now, right? What my heart is experiencing and what I’ve now stated do not match. And unfortunately what I’ve now stated out loud is the uglier of the two, but the only thing that others can see or hear.

But still St. Philip Neri teaches us…

Do not grieve over the temptations you suffer.
When the Lord intends
to bestow a particular virtue on us,
He often permits us first to be tempted by the opposite vice.
Therefore, look upon every temptation as an invitation
to grow in a particular virtue and
a promise by God that you will be successful,
if only you stand fast.

Because of St. Philip Neri’s great advice I’ve been able to become more aware of my poor choice in words. I will choose to be grateful that I’m working through the temptations of poor word choice because it is an invitation to grow in the virtue of choosing better words when I speak.

Move forward with this invitation to grow in virtue, my friends. It is sure to make the world a better place.