In today's society, we are constantly bombarded with messages telling us to be kind. Be kind to your neighbor. Be kind to strangers. Be kind to animals. Be kind to the earth. The list goes on and on.
And while being kind is certainly a noble quality, there's another quality that we should all aspire to: being quiet.
Think about it—how often are you actually helped by someone who is talkative? Probably not very often. In fact, chances are good that you've been inconvenienced more times than you can count by someone who wouldn't stop yapping.
On the other hand, how often have you been helped by someone who kept their mouth shut? Probably quite a lot. That's because people who are quiet tend to be good listeners, and good listeners are the ones who are usually able to help us when we need it the most.
In addition, people who are quiet tend to be more thoughtful and introspective. This means that they're more likely to think before they speak, and as a result, they're less likely to say things that they'll later regret. We could all stand to learn a lesson from our quiet friends in this regard.
How many times have you wished that you could take back something that you said in the heat of the moment? We've all been there—but if we took a moment to think about what we were going to say before we said it, chances are good that we would have avoided saying it in the first place.
The next time you're feeling overwhelmed by all of the noise in the world, take a step back and remember this: sometimes, it's better to be kind by being quiet.