This Week in the World
When the Truth is Inconvenient
“I know what I should have said when I introduced you yesterday,” Cindi informed me. She had all of ten minutes notice to prepare her introduction for me, and she did a great job, but I was curious to know what she would have said had she been given time to think about it.
“I’d say, 'Meryl doesn’t just teach this stuff, she lives it. She always tells the truth, which I find…inconvenient.'” We both enjoyed a good laugh.
In the ten years of our friendship, there have been many opportunities to tell or not to tell - inconvenient truths. There have been moments of tension and discomfort. But in the end, our willingness to tell the truth has been the bedrock of our friendship.
Not everyone appreciates the "inconvenience" of friends who tell the truth - but my best friends come to decide it's the quality of friendship they treasure most. Your best friends are likely to appreciate that quality in you as well.
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PowerPhrase of the Week
You Are Not Entirely Without Blame
Dr. H. and I are both fans of the comic strip “For Better or Worse,” and way back last spring, we agreed that Elizabeth was going to end up with Anthony. Until recently it wasn't looking so good for Anthony and Elizabeth since Elizabeth's relationship with Paul was going strong. Then, last week Elizabeth dropped into town early and was shocked to find Paul with the teacher who had replaced her when she was transferred away. When Elizabeth complained about Paul's betrayal to her host Gary, he told her,
Gary went on to tell her how her actions set things in motion.
No one likes to hear how they created their own misery, and it’s a good friend who will tell them. I do recommend sensitively timing that kind of disclosure and delivering it with gentleness, but there are times when people need to hear about their own role in what happens to them.
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Poison Phrase of the Week
We Thought It Was None of Our Business
In an earlier strip than the one linked above, Elizabeth tells Vivian that she was shocked that the whole town knew of Paul’s relationship with Susan, her replacement teacher. Elizabeth asked, “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
Vivian replied,
- We thought it was none of our business.
If you are aware of a deception and you don’t speak up, you become complicit. I don’t recommend “tattling” without notice in most situations, but I do recommend telling the deceiver,
- I’m not comfortable keeping your secret for you. When do you plan to tell her? Because if you don’t plan to tell her soon, as her friend, I will tell her myself.
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SpeakStrong
Quote
from Meryl
"If you have a speech habit that doesn't serve you and you can't give it up, you have a 'speech addiction.' "
~ Meryl Runion~
SpeakStrong Definition:
To express yourself both powerfully & effectively; to say what you mean, mean what you say, without being mean when you say it.
SpeakStrong
Quote
from the wisdom of others
"Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol or morphine or idealism. "
Carl Jung
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