I've been thinking about swearing a lot lately. Swearing, cursing, cussing, words words words.
You all know I like words.
My friend Tom and I decided we both wanted to swear less. More than that, we both realised that we weren't fully aware anymore of what words escaped us anymore. That was a conclusion I was coming to as everything that bothered me ended in little four letter words, followed by a quick look see to watch for any children.
Why did I care if children were there?
The Avett brothers, in their song "Tear Down the House" said.
"Ever since I learned how to curse,
I've been using those sorry old words.
But I'm talking to these children
and I'm keeping it clean,
I don't need those words to say what I mean.
No, I don't need those words to say what I mean."
There are other ways of expressing oneself. I'm not against cursing, everyone does what they want to do, just like I'm not against sex or eating junk food. But in moderation, at the right time and place. Or else it becomes a natural part of your interaction with the world, and is that what you want to be putting out into the universe? Expressions of anger and hate?
My mom used to tell me this story that she had heard as a kid, that the gods were always saying, "Let it be done." So if you said good things, good things happened, and if you said bad things, bad things happened. I don't believe in karma, but I do believe there is a balance. The measure you give will be the measure you get back. I guess that's why I try to see things in a positive light.
I just came across this story of Blessed John Paul II, when having his fingers slammed by the car door, the first thing out of his mouth was, "Thank you, Lord, for loving me this way."
You know, I started to wonder when f words started replacing the "I offer this to the souls in purgatory," or "Thank you Jesus", especially when things would happen, like toes stubbed or drinks spilled.
Maybe it's time to head on back to that. A little more humility in my day would help more than hurt.
You all know I like words.
My friend Tom and I decided we both wanted to swear less. More than that, we both realised that we weren't fully aware anymore of what words escaped us anymore. That was a conclusion I was coming to as everything that bothered me ended in little four letter words, followed by a quick look see to watch for any children.
Why did I care if children were there?
The Avett brothers, in their song "Tear Down the House" said.
"Ever since I learned how to curse,
I've been using those sorry old words.
But I'm talking to these children
and I'm keeping it clean,
I don't need those words to say what I mean.
No, I don't need those words to say what I mean."
There are other ways of expressing oneself. I'm not against cursing, everyone does what they want to do, just like I'm not against sex or eating junk food. But in moderation, at the right time and place. Or else it becomes a natural part of your interaction with the world, and is that what you want to be putting out into the universe? Expressions of anger and hate?
My mom used to tell me this story that she had heard as a kid, that the gods were always saying, "Let it be done." So if you said good things, good things happened, and if you said bad things, bad things happened. I don't believe in karma, but I do believe there is a balance. The measure you give will be the measure you get back. I guess that's why I try to see things in a positive light.
I just came across this story of Blessed John Paul II, when having his fingers slammed by the car door, the first thing out of his mouth was, "Thank you, Lord, for loving me this way."
You know, I started to wonder when f words started replacing the "I offer this to the souls in purgatory," or "Thank you Jesus", especially when things would happen, like toes stubbed or drinks spilled.
Maybe it's time to head on back to that. A little more humility in my day would help more than hurt.
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