Oops! That's Not What I Meant!

The other day, I wrote about being mindful of what we think. Today it's what we say.

Last night, one of my brothers (we call our fellow nuns, not just monks, brothers) and I went on a last minute errand to the office supply store. We needed to get something for the office here at the Pure Land Learning College in Toowoomba. This is a dangerous place for both Venerable Wu Chin and I because while nuns don't do much "shopping," both my brother and I are unusually fond of pens and pads. It must be the colors. (What can I say—it's hard to eradicate ALL of one’s attachments!)

Since we were there, and knowing I don't like to go shopping, my brother thoughtfully suggested I look around to see if there was anything I needed. I quickly got some pads and pens (honestly, I'm hopeless) and a few other things and we went to check out.

The checker asked if I wanted a bag. I don't like to use plastic bags and while I carry a fold up shopping bag in the regular bag I carry when going out, I felt it wasn't necessary. I replied that I didn't need a plastic shopping bag and concluded with "I'm used to putting things in my bag."

Oops.

Realizing that hadn't come out quite as I had intended. I quickly added "After I pay for them!"

Sigh...

We really do need to be careful of what we say...

Comments

[Judy]

Generally referred to as "opening one's mouth and putting your foot in it"! . And of course you fit the profile of a typical shoplifter so well...LOL

But yes, the world would be a nicer place if we all were more mindful of the power of our words.

(I love that Office Supply store too)

[Venerable Wuling]

Judy, I'm convinced the only thing that saved me was the shaved head and brown robes! Any clerk would have figured that NO ONE would go to that extreme to steal a few pads and pens no matter how pretty the colors were! Of course, it helped that there were two of us and one is short and cute. (I was the tall and not cute one with the foot in her mouth.) ;-)

[Theresa]

Hello! I have just found your blog via a comment you left at Crunchy Chicken's blog. I've been trying to incorporate Buddhist and Taoist ways of being into my life of late, in as much as I understand them, and I'm glad to have found your blog to learn more about how to do that. :)

myriadthings.blogspot.com

[Venerable Wuling]

Theresa - Welcome and thank you for visiting! I'm a devoted fan of Crunchy!

And to anyone reading this, have a look at Theresa'a blog. I can't do a link in Squarespace comments to her site but just cut and paste myriadthings.blogspot.com into your browser address bar. She has some excellent "ponderings."

[Theresa]

Thank you for your kind words :)

myriadthings.blogspot.com