Tag Archives: Three Truths and One Wish

Three Truths and One Wish

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cover of my new journal from rifle paper company, reminds me of the wallpaper in my great aunt magdelaine’s bedroom (except that it was pink)

I started this post today with this simple writing prompt: “What do I know to be true right now?”

1. Truth: My house won’t be any cleaner just because I’m on vacation. Oh dear reader, I had such plans to be better, do better–stronger, faster, cleaner. And yet, only a few days in, I’ve decided to let that go. There is nothing magic or special about vacation. There’s still work that needs done and still not enough time to do everything I have planned–and that’s going to have to be okay.

2. Truth: The days aren’t magically longer because I’m on vacation. Another expectation I had about this vacation that I am letting go early on is that somehow the days would stretch out before me like forever. That I would lose track of time in a sense of endless bliss, feeling like years had passed between sunrise and sunset, like the way summer vacation felt when I was a kid. Now don’t get me wrong, I hope to have a few days like that, maybe even a few weeks, but I’m okay if the entire almost three months doesn’t feel that way every minute.

3. Truth: I need to learn to rest and play. At the workshop with Brene’ Brown this weekend, reviewing the guideposts for wholehearted living, the things to cultivate and the things to let go that she writes about in The Gifts of Imperfection, I felt pretty good about most of them. I am clearly still working on “cultivating self-compassion and letting go of perfectionism” and “cultivating calm and stillness and letting go of anxiety as a lifestyle,” but I am making such good progress.

The one place that I need to do some real work is with “cultivating rest and play and letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol.” I’ve mentioned before how now that I’m finally moving, it’s so hard for me to stop–I feel like I’ve already wasted so much time. But, Brene’ reminded us this weekend that if we rush the work, the work won’t be as good as it could be, and that this is a life we are living, we don’t want to rush our way to the end, and we want to enjoy it and contribute something of value so we need to cultivate the things that keep us strong, to “respect our body’s need for renewal.”

One Wish: That we can all soften and lean in to joy, whether we are on vacation or not, wherever we find it. And that we remember we can stop, sleep, rest, even quit if we need to, that there is wisdom in being gentle and kind with ourselves, brilliance in slowing down.

Three Truths and One Wish

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Right Speech, also called Wise Speech or Virtuous Speech, is speech that gives rise to peace and happiness in oneself and others…the word “Right” is not a moral judgment to be contrasted with bad or wrong, but means “leading to happiness for oneself and others.” ~Beth Roth, Family Dharma: Right Speech Reconsidered

Right Speech is something I think about a lot, something I try to practice in my personal life and in my writing. For example, on this blog I make choices about what to write about, what to share based on the principles of right speech–which means there are some things that are happening in my life that I don’t talk about here. It can be strange for the people in my life who know what’s going on. Just this weekend, my mom asked me if there was something she didn’t know about, something that was worrying me, bothering me, that I’d said something on the blog that made her think there was–and there is, but she already knows about it, it’s nothing new, I simply chose to not share the specific details here in my posts. It’s not because I am trying to be dishonest or less than wholehearted and authentic, but that I am considering the three truths of Right Speech.

1. Truth: Right Speech is true. Sometimes we say something before we know if it’s really true or not, or when there’s no way for us to know if it’s true. Maybe we even preface it with, “well I heard,” thinking that gets us off the hook, but still we are essentially telling a lie, a non-truth. Sometimes we exaggerate or over generalize, saying something about everyone who belongs to a different political party or religion or culture, not really knowing if that’s true and certainly knowing it can’t be true of “all of them.”

image by pittaya sroilong

Sometimes what we say is a belief formed in a state of confusion (or passion, or anger), and even if we aren’t entirely sure if our perception is accurate, we pass it along as fact. I do this to my husband when I’m upset or irritated and I start a phrase with “you always…” or I try to tell him what he thinks or really meant to say, simply because in my confused, upset condition it’s how I’m choosing to see things, to be hurt or to pick a fight, either way casting him as the one at fault, as the enemy. Practicing Right Speech would mean that I instead took a breath, explained that I was upset and not seeing things clearly.

2. Truth: Right Speech is compassionate. It is kind, peaceful, promotes harmony and good will, comforts, encourages, inspires, is gentle. It’s kind of like what your mom always told you: “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” That can sound hokey, childish even, but think about it–what is your response when someone speaks harshly or aggressively to you? Does that kind of talk, that tone make you feel peaceful or happy, loving towards the one speaking? Or does it make you want to smack someone in the mouth?

It’s also a common parenting tip: if your child is having a meltdown, ignore them, or if they are yelling, rather than yelling back and escalating the situation, you should try whispering. I see this even with my dogs. If they are barking at something, me yelling at them to “be quiet!” is essentially me barking too and doesn’t really stop them, but if I walk up close to them and quietly say “shhhh,” they usually can be interrupted, calmed down. Compassionate Right Speech means don’t instigate a fight, and don’t get hooked by someone else trying to start one with you. Make an attempt to avoid speech that would hurt or harm.

3. Truth: Right Speech is helpful. Say what is useful, purposeful, necessary, wise. Words can nourish or poison, harm or help, and it’s clear which is preferable. There are situations where I see people I love making the same dumb mistakes, over and over, and I get to the point where I am so frustrated, I want to tell them how dumb they are being, and how irritating it is, to judge and criticize them, but I stop myself, because it wouldn’t be helpful.

image by marc falardeau

And when we offer advice, we have to carefully consider who we are talking to, what their circumstance are, what they are ready to hear and to do. Sometimes, even if we can see clearly what they should do, what would make them happy, they might be too deep in their confusion about their situation, their resistance to reality too strong, and they might not be ready for advice, for a challenge to their current perspective or position. A simpler example of this might be yelling at a homeless person to “get a job!,” (actually, that statement in that situation might fail all three principles of Right Speech).

One wish: That we all commit wholeheartedly to speech that gives rise to peace and happiness in ourselves and others. That we chose our words carefully, making sure that they are true, compassionate, and helpful. And in the moments we can’t seem to do so, we are able to remain silent, quiet with our struggle rather than actively generating suffering or mindlessly chattering. And that we understand the principles of Right Speech should also be applied to our internal dialogues, those secret conversations we have with ourselves, and that we practice truth, kindness, and wisdom there as well.