My tongue lit a forest fire. When I opened my mouth, fire and smoke spewed out like a fire breathing dragon. One of my friends began discussing her most embarrassing moments. And without thinking, I joined in.

But my comments brought the conversation to a new low as I mentioned a scandalous situation about a public figure. Unsurprisingly, my words ignited a blaze of comments. Fueled by me and my big mouth, the conversation intensified, destroying everything in its path.

Moments later, I realized the damage. In a quick attempt to douse the flames, I changed the subject. And the conversation was finally extinguished.

But the embers still smoldered. The irreversible damage had left its ugly mark; my words had blackened the tone of the morning.

Later while driving home, my conscience whispered, “Guilty.”

I once read that if you say “I am sorry” every time you say something you shouldn’t, you will eventually learn to think before you speak. Though I sometimes forget, I am trying to put that idea into practice. Consequently, I decided my course of action the next time I met with my friends: Apologize for gossiping.

Accepting responsibility

A week later when I saw my friends, I explained what I had done and then said, “I’m sorry for gossiping.” Although one of my friends quickly dismissed my apology, I knew that I had needed to do it. As new life eventually transforms a scorched landscape, I seized the opportunity to plant seeds of encouraging words.

My son’s painting, Orange Flowers, reminds me of the powerful impact of positive words. Though the colors of orange and yellow make up the same colors as a destructive fire—when carefully arranged—they also make a beautiful bouquet. Because of this difficult lesson with my mouth, I took the next opportunity to use my words to plant seeds of beauty. And from the old ashes, new life began to sprout.

Painting on right: Orange Flowers by my son, Nate (age 9) - Tissue paper on paper