Creative Thinking: Words worth pondering

Creative Thinking: Words worth pondering

William Arthur Ward was an American writer of inspirational maxims. There are a few that I would like to briefly comment upon because I believe them worthy of particular attention.
“Before you speak, listen”. Ask yourself how often you apply this idea in your daily life. It is easy to talk about your opinions, express your feelings, especially the negative ones, forgetting about the person in front of you.
You tend to undervalue what they are saying because you believe that “your” opinion is more sound than theirs, so you don’t pay them too much attention.
You tend to speak as if you knew everything about the matter and as if only your opinion was correct. In a word, you love to “pontificate”. You say you don’t? Think about it the next time you find yourself in such situation.
“Before you write, think.” I actually don’t know how important “writing” is today. People seem to have forgotten this simple, beautiful art that created numberless poets and writers.
Today only quick communication is fashionable: Short e-mail, texting, tweets, Facebook posts…. Who takes the time to sit down and actually write a letter? Anyway, whatever means you use to send a message to another person, try to spend a second thinking before you write down what you want to say. Sometimes you do it in the spur of the moment and later you regret your hasty words. The ancient Romans used to say, “Verba volant, scripta manent” (words fly away, what is written stays).
“Before you spend, earn.” A-ha! Here is a good advice for this modern society of ours. So many are lured into spending more than they earn because they believe they “need” that extra appliance, that additional device, that luxurious whatever. They cannot wait till they have enough money and plunge themselves into debt which, often, ends up causing great distress in their lives. A wise person I knew used to say, “Make your calculations with a pencil”, meaning “Jot down the figures of what you have and what you want to spend. You will clearly see the situation, i.e. what you can afford and what you cannot.” It seems that nowadays everybody believes they can afford everything. But… can they?
“Before you criticize, wait.” Wise words, indeed. Think of how quick you usually are in criticizing people and deeds. It comes very easy to you to express your judgment immediately, as soon as you see something being done or hear something being said. Don’t be hasty. You don’t really know what is going on, you don’t have enough elements – right there on the spot – to declare, “This is wrong!”. You are not aware of the other person’s situation, feelings, state of mind and state of affairs. You decide what is right and what is wrong from your own point of view. You tend to forget that they are not you. On the other hand, you resent it if you find yourself in the position of being judged and criticized. Therefore… wait. Take your time to investigate the matter, to understand what is going on and then, if you still believe you need to say express your opinion, go ahead and do it. “Before you pray, forgive.” Praying while sheltering resentment, blame and even hatred in your heart will make your prayer weak, possibly meaningless. In order to address your thoughts to God, your spirit needs to be clear, at peace with yourself and with others. If it is not, your feelings are clouded and the connection to the Divine hampered.
“Before you quit, try.” Don’t get easily discouraged because, if you do, you miss out on what could be the great opportunity of your life. If you don’t succeed, you’ll simply find yourself at the starting point so…no big deal. But if you “do” succeed, you’ll have the proof that being brave and committed pays!
And finally: “Before you die, live.” How wonderful. Here, you may say that, of course, you live before you die. Yes, you do, in a physical and material sense. Your body is here all right. But…where is your spirit? What does it do throughout your existence? Is it tied down to selfish thoughts and desires, most of the time, or is it allowed to soar up to the heights of love, generosity and forgiveness?

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