mily members on the banks nearby, shouting at each other. He was initially saddened by their plight, and yet his frown soon turned to a calm smile, and he turned to his friends who had come with him that day and asked, “I wonder, why is it that people shout at each other in anger?”

His friends pondered this for a while in silence, until one of them said, “It is when we lose our inner calm that we shout.'”

The Saint smiled again and responded, “But then why do they shout when the other is right there next to them?”

The friends thought about this earnestly, and several looked as though they wanted to respond — yet and none of them offered an answer.

After a time, the Saint spoke softly and said, “When two people are angry at each other, their hearts become greatly distanced, and to bridge that separation they must shout to make themselves heard. The angrier they are, the greater the gulf between them grows, and the louder they must shout for their hearts to hear each other.”

The friends sat awhile in silence, and considered this.

And then the Saint continued: “What happens when two people Love one another? They don’t shout at each other at all, but rather speak softly. They do so because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is very small … And when they Love each other even more, they do not need to speak at all, the distance between their hearts is almost nonexistent, and they only need to whisper as their Souls get closer & closer in Love … Finally, they move so close to each other that they don’t even need to whisper — they simply look at each other with appreciation, and then into each other with Love … In these moments, they have become One. They hear each other perfectly, and they feel that they are respected and heard — so there is no more need to shout.”

He looked from his friends to the angry family, and back again, and then he said, “So, my dear ones, when you disagree with another, avoid letting your hearts grow distant. Remain calm and utter words that are soft and Kind. Only this will keep the distance between you close enough that the other can one day find the Way back Home.”

~ anonymous