Shut up.

I was in a first aid class a few weeks ago when the instructor dropped a line that was worth writing down.

Sometimes you need to shut up and let wisdom show up.

The context has left me, but the quote has not. It seems to apply in most of life. Rarely do we discover wisdom through talking. The archetypical wise man is never chatty. Talking and thinking rarely go together.

What about "thinking out-loud," though? I know that sometimes I can get clearer in my thinking through talking. Does that not contradict the wisdom of shutting up? I don't think so. The benefit I get from thinking out loud usually comes from hearing how foolish I sound. It turns out to be a good idea to do most of my out-loud thinking by myself.

Like much of my life, I find the application with my kids. Too often, if I speak quickly, I am bound to say something foolish. Even at 18 and 30 months, my kids can often figure out for themselves when they are misbehaving and what to do about it. My talking, particularly before giving wisdom enough time to show up, rarely helps.

So the challenge to us today is clear. Shut up. Hard to do, but rarely a bad idea.

(Photo credit to kandath)