"Raise Your Words, Not Your Voice...

...It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder."  ~Rumi

I loved this quote when I came across it on Pinterest yesterday!  I am a proud shouter/yeller, I will admit.  I enjoy confrontation and like to air things out in the open as soon as possible.  I think sometimes frustration or anger is best relieved through yelling or shouting.  This isn't always the case, of course.  It is quite difficult to have a loud confrontation with someone when one of you is a shouter and the other is not. 

However, I like this quote on another level.  The "raise your words" part.  It kind of goes back to my previous post on foul language.  Arguments and confrontation are more about persuasion.  Can you use words to get your point across without raising your voice?  Can you look for new vocabulary that can replace your current lackluster set of words?  (And to replace the profanity that you may choose to use sometimes?)

I love to read books that utilize words I've never heard before.  It's great on my Kindle because I can easily switch back and forth from a book to the dictionary to look up a word.  One of my favorites thus far is "preternatural," which means unusual or abnormal.  It's a funny word to say, but once you get the pronunciation, it's easy to use.

I like "That's abhorrent!" instead of "That sucks!"  It sounds so much more educated, doesn't it?  Look it up if you don't know what it means.  Try out a few new words every week.  You'll sound more professional and educated, and you'll see that people are more apt to listen to you speak!