The only thing I really remember from my high school Spanish class is a saying that was posted high on the right-hand wall.   It read: “En la voca cerada no entra la mosca.”  The literal translation is: “In the shut mouth enters no fly.”  

  My Spanish teacher was a young man in his mid-twenties, who was obviously trying to warn us that our mouths could get us in trouble in his class.  And though I don’t have any recollections of having that problem in his class, I clearly remember lots of other instances where that hole just below my nose got me into some difficulties, sometimes with an item bigger than a fly.  In fact, I’m pretty sure it was my very own foot that got wedged in there, …metaphorically speaking! 

  And so it is for most of us who live out in the vast world that lies beyond the hallowed walls of Fresno High School.  Our mouth can get us into big trouble, sometimes even when we think we’re behaving ourselves.

  And why is that?  Well, sometimes you might say that it’s because someone else is too sensitive, or this other person is just looking to get into an argument.  Those outer causes are not false, but the wise person trains himself to be a compassionate peacemaker everywhere he goes, while at the same time, keeps himself standing and acting from his own sense of personal integrity. 

  Perhaps a recent encounter will illustrate this for you.  Last Sunday afternoon I stopped at a ready teller to pick up some cash. As I approached a man and woman got there just ahead of me.  The large, heavily tattooed man had on an interesting hat, and being someone who speaks to strangers all the time I complimented him on his military styled hat that had the head of an eagle placed in the middle of an American Flag. 

  His response was “Ya, this is my country and I’m tired of all those people who are trying to give it away!”  I replied, “I really love this country, too.  Except the way I deal with my challenges is from the inside out.  Because I find that when I change my attitude about what’s goin’ on in my life I immediately feel better, and I can then be more helpful to others.”  His next reply was,  “Ya, that’s real good, man. You sound like a Christian.  Are you a Christian?”  I said, “For me, I don’t really like labels.  I have great respect for all religions, but I’ve found that what’s really important is what your relationship is with your maker that’s in your heart, and it’s not at all important what the name is over the door.”  He replied again, “Ya man, that sounds right.”  “It really does.” Says the wife.  As he walks off, he says, “Thanks for stoppin’ to talk to us, man.”  I called back to him, “Heh, I enjoyed it, too.  Have a great day!”

   Instead of jumping on his negative comment with a negative or judging reply, I just told my truth in a way that didn’t insult him and didn’t take me out of my own personal integrity.

  When we look a bit deeper into this whole subject, seeking the positive purpose of the part of our anatomy that’s just below our nose we find that it has an extremely important job. Its job is to act as the ambassador for our heart.  

  So pay attention the next time when your mouth wants to get you into hot water.  If you’ll honestly analyze it you’ll likely find that there’s something that needs to be changed or improved on in the way you view and think about others and yourself. 

  Therefore, it’s really not so much about the words that we use.  Rather, it’s a lot more about the relative unconditionalness of our heart’s motives.  And because all of us are still building our way toward perfection it’s valuable to remember that it is the conscious and regular culture of the heart’s natural love and purity that will win for us the most success and the greatest joy.

I’m John Johnston.  See you next time, here, On the Cosmic Porch