Saturday, 25 May 2024

Nine Teacups and Saucers

 

There is another definition of the word “tea” we don’t often think about. Tea can also mean gossip, as in, “Let’s get together and spill some tea.” Gossip isn’t always a bad thing. Sure, if you’re spreading a story (true or not) designed to harm an innocent person’s reputation or to get them ostracized, that’s pretty despicable. But I think anyone who’s read Pride and Prejudice would agree if Jane and Elizabeth Bennet had shared what they knew about Wickham, Lydia might not have been seduced by him. I find myself thinking about Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote: “Great minds talk about ideas, average minds talk about events, and small minds talk about people.” It’s a noble concept, but there are times when talking about people is unavoidable and might even be important. A more practical approach may be to screen your speech with these questions: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? 

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