I'm at work, and I'm sick.
Let me elaborate. I have a sore throat and my voice is giving up on me, a circumstance which happens to be very timely especially if the company you work for is part of an industry where effective communication is critical, no, vital. I am literally speechless in an area packed with people who need to talk to earn a living. It's pretty hard to assist other people through sign language and an intermittent voice which shifts from whole to whisper to wheeze to whine. This lozenge I have in my mouth just leaves me with a numb feeling in the back of my mouth, extending to the top(?) of my neck.
I'm reading the Bourne trilogy again, just about half done with The Bourne Identity. The antagonist, Carlos, "The Jackal", has a method in dealing with people in his network who betray him by talking too much: A single gunshot to the throat, leaving the victim "to die in excruciating pain".
I just thought I'd bring that up, since we're talking about talking in the first place. Though my circumstance is nowhere near the experience of having a silenced hollow-point blow my larynx to pieces, I would like to think that it is a consequence of me talking too much.
It's actually a fine consequence, compared to the regret derived from the pain I caused by saying wrong words, or saying too much words. That just goes straight to your heart and your mind, and it may just drive you to shoot yourself in the throat, without the assistance of a world-class assassin known to be from Venezuela.
It takes a significant degree of effort to say something at an acceptable volume/rate/tone. That being said, I literally need to strategize (a nicer way of saying 'fix') what I wish to say in order to have the greatest impact in the least amount of words, while staying within standards. These standards are derived from experience - and mind you, rejection, embarrassment and all other familiar situations add a whole lot to experience. They are also derived from what's in the Bible.
"It is not what goes into the mouth that makes a person unclean. It is what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean."
- Matthew 15:11
Boom. Guess I gotta think twice before talking dirty. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words would probably get me more than just a sore throat the next time I say something that doesn't glorify God.
Yeah, I meant that. If what you say, heck, if what you write falls short of glorifying the Lord who gave you the gifts you have, there's always the risk of consequence.
I'm at work, and I'm sick, and I'm enlightened.
And just before I posted this, an agent was mimicking me. God bless her.
And God bless you, dear reader.