Blessed are those with the gift of discretion – those select members of society who have the foresight to think before they utter their thoughts aloud. They carefully create the vision of syllables tumbling from their mouths in perfect synchronicity and follow through with eloquence and grace on their delivery. Their words are distinct and, most often, fraught with meaning. Their sentences have symmetry and structure and have been scrutinized at great length before being uttered. They leave no opportunity to say the wrong thing. In short – they think before they speak.
Because nature dictates balance in all things, there are also those who throw caution to the wind. They randomly spew the first words that enter their brain without giving them the benefit of being filtered through the proper sieve of political or even conventional correctness. The words are out there, hanging in the air like the particles of moisture in a dense fog. They become thick and difficult to navigate without inevitably crashing into an invisible concrete barrier. When the burning heat of embarrassment burns away the remnants of that fog, the orator stands alone with one foot firmly implanted in their mouth.
Having the wisdom to compose a thought before it is cast out to the point of no return is the key to not having the bitter aftertaste of ten-year old running shoes saturating your taste buds. Formulating a response with deliberation ensures that you are clear in what you want to say without being hurtful, cynical or idiotic. Knowing when to step back and think before you speak gives you an opportunity to sound thoughtful and articulate, without the aftermath of explanations and backtracking.
Unless you have a foot fetish, keep in mind that words are more appreciated when sentences are given a moment to take their proper form. Knowing what you want to say is decided in a second. Being able to control the outpouring of emotion and present those ideas properly is worth the extra ten seconds to avoid the taste of Nike mouthwash.
polysyllabic profundities 
love your third paragraph – it should be engraved on all of our minds
Thanks, and you’re right – it would solve a lot of problems.
That’s one of the nice things about communicating online – there’s more time to compose a thought.
You couldn’t see what I did there, but I took more time to compose my thought. I find it works well except when using Twitter and wine simultaneously – then all bets are off!!
That’s good advice for all of us. Of course, if I followed it, my blog would cease to exist.
Haha…we don’t EVER want that to happen!! Genius barbs in writing are far different than idiots who only talk to hear themselves talk. LOL…..keep writing!!
Agreed! 🙂 Wishing I could teach this principle to one of my little people…maybe the thought will sink in someday…! Love the photo! 🙂
I wish we could teach it to everyone!! I should have given Google credit for the photo, but I do love it as well. Thanks for reading!
Extremely well put. I know quite a few people who would benefit in reading this! Love that last time about the “Nike mouthwash”. Great, thoughtful post.
Or, last line*! Didn’t think that one through so well. 😉
It’s Friday….who’s really thinking at this point?? 🙂
How very right you are! The only thinking I’m doing is about what to bring to my BYO steakhouse gathering tonight! 😉
Great….now that’s what I’m thinking about!! And the wine…I can’t forget the wine.
Oh, the wine will be had. Lots and lots of wine!
I like your style!! 🙂
Thank you!
You are certainly a master of words! “The words are out there, hanging in the air like the particles of moisture in a dense fog.” I love reading your work – I want to print this out and put it up on my fridge as a daily reminder! 😀
That may have just made my entire year! A talented author wants to put MY work on HER fridge…..that means a lot….thank you so much!! 😀
And a pinched nose gathers no malicious odors. What fun is talking if you can’t stick your foot in your mouth once in a while?
I try to avoid it from the bottom of my sole.
Oh, bravo. How clever. How very clever.
This pun was brought to you by the makers of coffee.
That doesn’t narrow it down much.
Don’t you wish you could have a little delete and insert option when speaking? I’m sure everything sounds funnier, cleverer and more consise inside my brain! Great post – your blog is sooo purty!
Thank you so much.
The way you’ve put this seriously brightened my day! I have been trying to work on this recently, progress is being achieved at a snail’s pace, however!
Thanks!! Keep up the pace, it’ll get better.