It Takes a Community

Would you rather always speak the truth or everything you say will end up coming true?

A couple weeks ago one of my students asked me this very question. My first instinct was to say that I would always rather speak the truth. However, the more I thought about it, I began to change my mind. While it is admirable to always speak the truth, it might allow us to become better listeners if everything we said came true. Let me explain.

Our precept for this month is “Listen First.” This has carried over into many of our class conversations. One of the ways I evaluate students during our “Fishbowl Discussions” is their attentiveness. Sure, talking during a discussion seems obvious, but sometimes really listening to what others have to say first can help us form our thoughts and extend compassion to others. When we take extra time to respond we are able to carefully measure what we say.

If all of us took a little more time to listen rather than respond, we might say less. When it comes to answering the question, above, if we are careful about what we say because it will become true, there might be less divisiveness. The world we live in is so divisive, and social media does not help. We are all so reactive and quick to judge. Being able to respond behind our computer screens makes it even easier to make divisive comments.

I admit, there is another side to the argument that says that people might say horrible things on purpose just because everything they say would come true. However, I choose to see the positive implications of something like this. Although this is a fictional scenario, I think it is an important reminder to be careful what we say and listen first.