Shock and Awe

If you know anything about me, you know I really am one of the most blunt people you will ever meet in your life. I say what I think.. sometimes much to the embarrassment of my husband. If I had a nickel for every time he looked at me in shock and said, "Lori!!!!", I would be a very rich woman. Over my life, I have left a lot of hurt feelings in my wake. I used to rationalize this by saying, Hey- at least I'm honest! But as I have gotten older, more of my dear friends have taken me aside to point out that hurting people's feelings is not just being "honest", it's being mean. I used to think that there wasn't anything I could do about this. I was born this way. I was born without a filter between my brain and my mouth. However,I have learned this is just an excuse. It is an excuse to allow myself to continue in bad habits of saying everything that I think. Don't get me wrong, one of the things I love about myself is that I say what I think. But it's never okay to say EVERYTHING that I think. I don't mind shocking people. Sometimes I think people need to be shocked.I am all for the shock and awe :) But I don't ever want my honesty to hurt someone. Words hurt worse than anything. I would rather be punched in the gut than have someone say something hurtful to me. Our physical wounds heal so much faster than our emotional wounds. I'm sure if you are reading this, you can think back to a time when somebody said something that hurt you. It was probably years ago, but yet you still remember that. Words leave a mark on your soul.
Last night, I found this quote by an unknown author and it set me to thinking about my words.
"A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wreck a life. A timely word may lessen stress. A loving word may heal and bless" - author unknown

I hope my words lessen stress. I hope my words are the kind that heal and bless. I don't want to use the excuse that at least I'm being "honest" anymore. I want to challenge myself to think before I speak. I want to learn to draw the line between honesty and hurtful. It's such a thin line.