When I was on the railways I found myself devouring books on world philosophy, in search of wisdom and meaning. Reading these brought me to seek a more fulfilling calling in life, and when I learned about counselling, and how it could be a career option for me, I knew I’d found my path. One of these texts, “Hagakure”, written by a samurai who worked as a scribe, is the source of the quote above.

Our words are more powerful that many of us ever come to fully realise. Often, we cannot predict the impact they may have on others. A single careless statement made without thought, could echo in the minds of others for a lifetime.

So the best thing we can do, is put care into the way we express ourselves, to ensure we only say what we mean – and mean what we say. It’s not always easy, and its not always going to succeed, but we owe it to those around us, and our positive relationships with them, to ensure that our words don’t cause inadvertent harm.

After all, we don’t get to decide how others feel about our words or actions.

But of course, there’s many ways you could interpret this quotation. What do you think it could apply to?