“The foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing is a vice so mean and low that every person of sense and character detests and despises it.” ~ George Washington
My father once told me that people swear whenever they are too lazy to speak with dignity. I don’t know if he would recall saying that to me long ago, but it certainly made an impression. The way you speak, like the way you dress, is a calling card to your personality, to your mood and to your outlook.
One of my favorite sayings is “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” Whenever I partake of the vice Washington described as “mean and low,” this saying rings in my ears, reminding me that I could have put in a bit more effort and done better. You can always speak fitly without borrowing from the long and colorful list of curse words and we would all better off if that list were to be erased from the memory banks!
In my grandfather’s generation men did not swear in front of women. It seems that nowadays even children’s movies contain words that a generation or two ago would have been considered profane. It’s a right royal mess! The spoken language is sound. Sound is vibration. Vibration influences matter. We are matter, hence, we are affected physically by the vibration of words. And I believe that it is more than just a matter of moving our tympanic membrane!
While I do not swear often, I recognize this morning that naught but cursing comes on the heels of profanity. Profanity is a cop out and is ultimately ungentlemanly. From this day forward I shall never curse again. I make this vow not to be better than others, nor to take a “holier than thou” attitude, but instead because I recognize that the vibration carried by curse words is dissonant with who I know I am.
Will you join me?
Gregory Hake 
I “joined” many moons ago. Don’t miss it. Now if I could only say the same for sugar lol. However to relate to your article I’d like to mention that I have been working with high school and among college students this year and have been surrounded by profanity. I can tell you that by the end of the week I feel exhausted. I’m now on a break from it and can feel the difference in my energy level. So yes definitely those lower vibrations affect you. Masar Emo to also found a relationship between cities with their higher levels of ‘negative’ speech and corresponding levels of crime.
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Yea!!! One day down, a lifetime to go. Who knew how often in frustration a curse word slipped out until one started paying attention because of a little bit of accountability from a stranger. Thanks Gregg!!
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Good work, Charlene. You’re well on your way to leading an uncommon life!
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Wow, I wish I had read this a bit earlier today… However,
there’s no better time to start than now. I’m with you!
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It takes some specific work. Best wishes!
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I’ve never thought of the effect cursing had on more than just the immediate situation. It makes sense. I’ll join the effort. Thanks for bringing up the subject. And thanks to all that commented. I always appreciate your thoughts.
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Great to hear!
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Thank you for this reminder Gregg, and “yes” i will join you, even on the golf course!
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Good to hear…people reveal a lot about themselves when playing sport!
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I will certainly be more thoughtful about my words and appreciate your challenge to stay on the high road and think before we speak!
“Watch your thoughts, they become your words
Watch your words, they become your actions
Watch your actions, they become your habits
Watch your habits, they become your character
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
– Anonymous
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Great quote, thanks!
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It occurs to me that cursing goes beyond just using swear words, though swearing off curse words is a great place to start positioning oneself to offer a blessing. This is a great consideration. Words fitly spoken or not definitely make clear the speaker’s state of heart and mind.
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I’ve noticed for myself that swear words tend to slip out when I am being lazy in the guarding of the quality of my expression. The bar for what is acceptable expression has fallen so low even within the span of my own life that it really does take some conscious thought to preserve refined expression. I admire your concern and definitely join you in it!
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I recall as a child my parents teaching us 6 children the
concept of the importance of speaking kind words and how mean words
and profanity are as damaging as throwing a physical punch, doing
bodily harm. So for encouragement and correction they had a large
picture of a metal trashcan posted on the refrigerator door for us
to throw out our unkind and bad words. They taught us the ultimate
goal was to never have to visit that ‘trashcan’ during a day. The
Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto’s work in ‘Messages from Water’
has shown the power of words by how water responds to different
words, thought, music, etc. by quick freezing water into crystal
forms. Each water crystal assumes a unique form that seems to match
the type of information it is given. It forms water crystals of
beauty with kind words, and distortion with ugly or unkind words.
His works shows over and over how thoughts and words change the
form of water. If we are made of 78-80% water, just consider the
impact the input of words, thoughts, music, etc. has our our own
bodies! Thank you Gregg for the challenge to stay away from the
‘trashcan’!
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In light of this, it would be within reason that through the proper use of our vibrational influence of expression, be able to raise the vibration and our atmosphere simply through ensuring our word’s are “Fitly Spoken”. Focusing on what’s right instead of struggling with what is wrong….makes sense, and I will certainly do even better tomorrow….(2 thoughless slips of the tongue today).
Wonderful to be a part of this process with you Gregg, and all.
Let’s vibrationally change the world together! (Butterfly Effect)
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Appreciate what you have outlined here and can certainly relate, that said….
I will certainly join you!
Thanks Gregg.
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Yes!!! I am with you. The ripple effect of cursing is more than I can bear. What a perfect day to make that change, for myself and the world I am responsible for. Thank you!
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Yes; I am with you. While I don’t use profanity often; in times of anger and frustration…it comes out too quickly. Thanks for the challenge!
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