It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it

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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Yousra Samir Imran Good morning. At some point all of us have been told, ‘It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it’, but sometimes it takes a parable to get us to have that ‘aha’ moment. In one such tale, a king dreams that all his teeth fall out and he sends for a dream interpreter. The dream interpreter tells the king, “Your dream means that all your family members will die”. Upon hearing this, the king becomes furious and sends the dream interpreter to the dungeons. The king then sends for another dream interpreter. After listening to the king, this second dream interpreter says, “My king, I have good news for you. You will live longer than all your family members and be the eldest in your family”. The king was delighted to hear this and rewarded the man. The court officials were surprised and said to the dream interpreter, “Your interpretation was no different to the interpreter before you and he got sent to the dungeons”. The interpreter said, “It’s not what you say but how you say it”. We can all be guilty of speaking a little too bluntly and this causes people to get angry or hurt. There is an Arabic saying, “whatever is in your heart is on your tongue”. Speaking frankly has its merits, but when extended relatives have spoken too frankly and without a filter it has hurt me. So I pray we all find it within ourselves to always speak in a way that is thoughtful and compassionate and takes into account the feelings of other people. And as always, this is a reminder to myself first before others. Ameen.