Shade Tree Wisdom 6/12/13

Shade Tree Wisdom 6/12/13


I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, who has sight so keen and strong
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak I
 found the arrow, still unbroken;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
    Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth

Do you remember learning that quote? The part of the quote that lingers is the first bit, “I shot an arrow into the air, it fell to earth, I knew not where”. The lesson really is “be careful what you say”, for, as James points out, “the tongue can no man tame”.

For us who are “Lights of the world” who are to let their light shine, we ought to use the advice of St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, noble,
Just, pure, lovely, of good report, is there any virtue, or anything
Praiseworthy, meditate on these things. Philippians 4,8.

Some do have the tendency to be what I term “blurters”. They tend to speak what strikes them without considering the consequence. And often such folks hurt without meaning too, simply because their words are not “few”, or well thought out.

The Catechism in its explanation of the 8th commandment puts it like this, “And put the best construction on everything”.

There’s a goal for all of us, to see the best, not the worst, and pray for the people we engage in any conversation. Let’s not be shooting arrows into the air without caring where they land, or whom they might hurt. May God really make us “Lights in the world”.

GPD 6/12/13