Little Bitty Musings

Saying things you shouldn’t say or speaking much more than is necessary brings a lot of agitation to the mind. The other extreme, complete silence, or not speaking up when it is useful or necessary, is also problematic. Applying right speech is difficult in the beginning; it takes practice. But if you practice every time you talk to someone, the mind will learn how to be aware, to understand what it should or should not say, and to know when it is necessary to talk.

– Sayadaw U Tejaniya, “The Wise Investigator”

This quote came to me via email from Tricycle Magazine. I am amongst the former ilk. Oh how I wish I had internalized this wisdom many years ago. It would have saved me hours of wishing I could rip out my tongue.

We said goodbye to the roadster today and hello to our newish car for middle aged people, and none too soon because we had our first snowfall today. (This is a photo of the type of car we bought.)

It’s properly cold today — and wet. Pickles and I went to the park for an afternoon walk and even though we attempted to stay on the paved walkway, Pickles couldn’t help herself and she bounded through the grass and stood in the mud. For the first time ever, I put her in the boot of the car for our ride home because she was laden with dirt and there was no car rug for her to sit on. (Our car is a hatchback so it’s not as bad as it sounds.)

Pickles was not amused and the ride home stressed her and she told me so when I helped her out of the car.