Words can't be taken back

When you ask someone about the qualities they appreciate in another person, you'll probably hear sincerity a lot. And that's just great, we all want sincere friends, partners, colleagues in our lives. But let me ask you something... Should there be a limit? When do you draw a line? What if you hurt someone beyond repair with your sincerity? Hmm. What if you mistook selfishness for sincerity...?

You often believe your truth to be the valid truth for everyone else and you rarely accept to consider what somebody else has to say. Life doesn't work like that. Relationships can crumble down because of such issues. Friendships can be destroyed. Families torn apart. In just minutes. Because of this so called unique valid truth. Stubbornness has a huge role too. But I think the greatest role is yet to be played by fear.

You let fear overcome love, because yes, I admit it, this is sometimes the easiest way to avoid getting hurt, to avoid feeling something new and possibly unpredictable. So it's better to follow a pattern and stay in the safe zone. It's better to not look back and acknowledge the damage.

So you choose words. Words that can't be taken back. Words that sometimes feel like bullets. Envision this: you are with your back against a wall, just standing there, nothing you can do. And you just listen and you feel every bullet digging deeper into your skin. The pain is sharp and you want it to stop. Once the target is reached, your soul, there is no going back. You can just stand there with an empty gaze and tell yourself that things will get better. But those scars, man...

We all say things and never think of the consequences. We pride ourselves in believing that we are honest and this is the right thing to do. We say cruel things to our parents in moments of anger (because we are are always right and they need to hear it). We dismiss our friends with hurtful words (because they are our friends and they have to understand). We unleash our demons on our better halves (because they love us and they have to suck it up). Oh boy, do we take everything for granted without even thinking for a second that we are hurting the ones around us.

What does it take to contemplate for a bit about what are we going to say to another human being?

Have you ever thought that could be the last thing you say to them?

Before you start judging my thoughts, I am by no way promoting lies. Oh no. I am simply thinking about this issue: what if I had thought about it for a few seconds more and expressed myself differently? What if we just tried it... The results would be incredible.

Anger, fear, selfishness.

Empathy, love, altruism.

Nobody is perfect, but we can try to better ourselves every day. 

We just have a certain ammount of time given. What are we going to do with this time?

Be kind whenever you can. It doesn't make you weak.

And yes, I need to work on this also. Because I care. And because I know I make mistakes and I hurt people. And I hate it. 

Maybe this will be the first part of a series. Thoughts that keep me up at night.

Also, I can't end this without a musical recommendation for you: Mike Shinoda - Post Traumatic (2018). Just click the link and give it a listen. It's really good.

Cris