We\u2019ve long heard much in regard to what\u2019s the hardest thing to do\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve always said that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports,\u201d<\/i> said the great Ted Williams.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the hardest thing to do in the world, show-business-wise, is write comedy,\u201d<\/i> said the comedic genius, Carol Burnett.<\/p>\n
\u201cStillness. That’s all and that’s the hardest thing,\u201d<\/i> said the talented Morgan Freeman.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hardest thing with musicians is getting them not to play,\u201d<\/i> said the iconic pop star, Prince.<\/p>\n
And from the often articulate Adlai E. Stevenson, \u201cI am now seasoned enough to have learned that the hardest thing about any political campaign is how to win without proving that you are unworthy of winning.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
So much truth and perspective in each of the above, individualized arenas. What still seems hardest for us all?<\/p>\n
\u201cTo change,\u201d<\/i> said Mickey Rourke.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo trust people,\u201d<\/i> said Dwight Howard.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing humble and sweet,\u201d<\/i> said Jemima Kirke.<\/p>\n
\u201cLosing weight,\u201d<\/i> said Aretha Franklin.<\/p>\n
\u201cLosing someone you love,\u201d \u201cforgiveness,\u201d <\/i>and \u201casking for forgiveness,\u201d<\/i> still say many.<\/p>\n
I wonder, as we watch people continue to forsake respecting all <\/i>in all <\/i>arenas, if the hardest thing to do has less to do with any of the above \u2014 hard as each admittedly can be \u2014 but more to do with a singular body part.<\/p>\n
It seems, my friends, we are consistently, inconsistently awful at taming the tongue.<\/p>\n
I speak not of vulgarity; after all, truthfully, sometimes there\u2019s just something incredibly funny about the limited-use-yet-perfectly-timed, creative cuss word.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I speak instead of the words meant to demean, degrade, or disrespect. While a word out of our mouths can accomplish nearly anything, it can also destroy it.<\/p>\n Maybe we say destructive words flippantly. Maybe they are a knee-jerk reaction. Maybe we put them on social media for all the world to see.<\/p>\n Maybe we don\u2019t actually say the words, but we\u2019re totally ok and egging it on if the words come out of the mouth of someone else. Maybe we\u2019re inconsistent in believing disparaging words are ok, pending who actually says them.<\/p>\n Maybe it depends on who the words are said about \u2014 from a sitting senator to a press secretary, as we\u2019ve sadly, recently observed.<\/p>\n Maybe, just maybe, each of us, well, we\u2019re entirely inconsistent. We justify degrading someone.<\/i><\/p>\n I read once \u2014 ok, maybe twice (or truthfully way, way more)<\/i> \u2014 how if we could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, we\u2019d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life. No one can tame a tongue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hence, I walk away, still wondering with two thoughts\u2026<\/p>\n One, we only hurt ourselves and our credibility when we\u2019re lured into believing that cursing and blessing can come out of the same mouth\u2026<\/p>\n And two, as adults hailing from all sorts of both individual and collective arenas, each of us has areas in which to grow.<\/p>\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We\u2019ve long heard much in regard to what\u2019s the hardest thing to do\u2026 \u201cI’ve always said that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports,\u201d said the great Ted Williams. \u201cI think the hardest thing to do in the world, show-business-wise, is write comedy,\u201d said the comedic genius, Carol Burnett. \u201cStillness. That’s … <\/p>\n