The Lesson of the Wise Old Owl

  Maybe it is just a sign that I am getting older or perhaps I was out in the pollen a tad too much but I had a bit of a "choking" spell early this afternoon.  I had been out in the garden and needed a drink of cooling water but with the first swallow, I gagged.  Hmmm?  No, I choked, gagged and gasped for breath.  Yeah, it was that bad.  I guess something just went down the throat wrong but for a solid hour, I coughed.  That coughing led to a sore throat and a pain that I could feel deep down in my chest.  It was not a happy feeling.  With that sore throat came a bit of difficulty talking for the rest of the afternoon and evening.  I am quite sure that folks around me were smugly satisfied with my lack of voice but this just added insult to injury.  It was bad enough for me to have pain but for the world to be deprived of my vast words of wisdom was just too much!  Ok..lets just say I could not talk.

  This lack of verbal skills led me to do a lot of thinking and the more I thought, the more I realized that perhaps the world would be a better place without my (or most other folks') constant chatter.  I came to the understanding that about ninety percent of what I say is not really important. (Sort of like blogging!)  Anyway, that sudden light-bulb moment, made me think of a small, framed quote that Mom gave to my son, Michael.  She said it reminded her of him even as a little boy.  He was a shy child that grew into a wise man but a man of few words.

      "A wise old owl lived in an oak;

       The more he saw, the less he spoke;

      The less he spoke, the more he heard;

      Why can't we be like that old bird?"

  When you think about it, this little rhyme would be a great life motto.  Most folks (me included) prattle far too much about nothing.  Words fall from the mouth with ease and without much thought behind them.  If only we followed the rhyme and really listened.  Listened to what was around us.  Listened to those who speak to us.  Listened to what we are about to say BEFORE it leaves our mouth.  Perhaps then, the world might be a better place.