{"id":3704,"date":"2012-07-22T22:46:59","date_gmt":"2012-07-23T05:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/?p=3704"},"modified":"2012-07-22T22:46:59","modified_gmt":"2012-07-23T05:46:59","slug":"rebukes-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/2012\/07\/22\/rebukes-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebuke’s Gift"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"Encounter<\/em>, detail.<\/a><\/h6>\n

It’s better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.<\/strong>*<\/p>\n

\u201cPraise shames me, because I secretly crave it.\u201d That’s by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, but I suppose it could be said by any one of us.<\/p>\n

And we could add, \u201cA correction shames me, because I secretly avoid it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Praise, deserved, is a high thing and should be accepted with humility. For real value, it needs to come from the discerning.\u00a0Cheap praise is just that.<\/p>\n

Either way, it’s like perfume; you can smell it but you’d better not swallow it.<\/p>\n

But \u201crebuke,\u201d you’ll say, is not just correction, it’s correction with a point. It smarts.<\/p>\n

And it’s smart to accept it.<\/p>\n

I looked up the etymology. It’s from 14th century Anglo-French meaning to repel<\/em> or beat back<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We knew all about rebukes when we were children and we were generally helped. It’s a rare thing among adults. We build moats and walls around ourselves that prevent any such from getting through.<\/p>\n

But there may be times when a big “STOP IT” would be the best thing for us to hear.<\/p>\n

Stop it?<\/p>\n

Yes. Stop it. Whatever it is you’re doing that’s annoying, festering, bringing people down, or bringing yourself down: Stop it.<\/p>\n

Sorry if I’m intruding, but I couldn’t resist since we’re on the topic. I know I need to hear it from time to time.<\/p>\n

Take it as from a friend . . . just in case it applies and there’s no one around with the blundering forthrightness (or the courage) to say it. If it doesn’t apply, save it for another day.<\/p>\n

Or, just forget it.<\/p>\n

I think I hear the singing of a fool. (Much more pleasant.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PS \u00a0Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0for Bob Newhart’s classic counseling session where he gives the same advice.<\/p>\n

_______________________<\/p>\n

*Ecclesiastes 7:5<\/p>\n

Just entering the Lake District, England.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether it’s praise or critique, consider the source. And if it’s the latter, be open to it. Oh, and there’s a good laugh at the end, if you have the time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3704"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3704"}],"version-history":[{"count":51,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3849,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3704\/revisions\/3849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}