hush.

I've had one giant recurring thought since last night after I spoke to someone who I can aptly name my mentor. This is a thought I've had before, namely while reading "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I relate to Elizabeth when she describes her habit of talking just to fill the space of silence. She realizes while studying meditation in India that not only is her mind filled with busy and negative thoughts, but her mouth is constantly moving, talking over the moment - or taking over the moment - just because that's how she's learned to live over time. She decides to be mindful of when she does this and begin to allow moments to unfold and conversations to continue without her leading the show. Her actions become more important than her words. One of my favorite sayings has always been "actions speak louder than words" and I am not sure I've ever sat back and thought about the saying in relation to myself. I often use it to point out this issue in others.

I can say that there's one person in my life who points out my issue with this idea rather often: my father. He's constantly cutting me off when I begin one of my tangents, often asking me questions but never waiting for me to finish my stories and is constantly telling me to quit overanalyzing the situation. I have tried to shorten my sentences and get right to the heart of matters with him, but it's much easier said than done. I'm a word connoisseur! I often can't help but provide lengthy descriptions (as you can see by the length of most of my blog posts). I don't think I'll ever be a woman of few words (which is fine by me, I don't want to completely change myself!), but today I'm wondering what it would be like to just chill a little bit with it.

Simply put, "say less; do more" is where I'm at. (It's also my facebook status and has received quite a few likes - my father included). And it's a perfect day to try this out because I'm exhausted and worn out and don't feel much like running my mouth.

"Learning how to discipline your speech is a way of preventing your energies from spilling out of you through the rupture of your mouth, exhausting you and filling the world with words, words, words instead of serenity, peace and bliss."

- Elizabeth Gilbert "Eat Pray Love"