A Perfect Motto when Conversing

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I recently had the pleasure of taking some teen girls on a short hike through a nature preserve.

While we enjoyed spying star flowers..

...exploring old mill sites and farm walls...

...crossing streams...

...discovering frog eggs...

... spying spring blooms...

...chatting, laughing, and more, there was one thing that was not so delightful:

At times, conversation turned to those that some or all of the girls knew, and, from there, turned negative.

That was when a practical and succinct quote that I read in Counsels of Perfection for Christian Mothers came into play:

 "Speak not ill of the absent."

I recalled how the book explained that "Saint Augustine had these words posted in his refectory" and that, putting them into play, "he was not only a saint but also a man of honor." 

The book also encouraged readers to put the motto into practice and to see that families lives up to it, saying, "Your voice, with a sweet firmness, should remind those who are prone to forget, that with you, and before you, no evil must be spoken of the absent."

Perfect!

Each time the girls' conversation leaned toward speaking ill of others, I simply chimed in with "Speak not ill of the absent."

The girls then joked with me about how, if we could not speak ill of the absent, we might speak honestly - even if ill - of the present. (Girls!)

Even still, the point was made.

Succinct and powerful, "Speak not ill of the absent," has since become a motto that my daughter and I remind one another of when bad habits if ill speaking come over us.

I share the quote here in case it might help you or yours break a similar habit which hurts others and causes us to lose our way on the path toward perfection.

I also encourage you to read other gems in Counsels of Perfection for Christian Mothers.

If you don't have the book I shared links here for audio, print, an e-versions that you can access paid or for free.