A Lesson in Wisdom from Ancient Athens
Hey friend, can you imagine what it was like in the old marketplace in Athens so long ago? The sun was bright and hot that day. All around you could hear people yelling and laughing as they looked at things to buy and sell. https://a.co/d/48Hr17z
In the middle of all the noise and busy folks, one man stood out from the rest. His name was Socrates. Even though his face was getting wrinkly from being outside so much, you could tell he was very smart just from looking at him. It was like he had a special calm feeling all around him. People said he was as wise as the gods!
Just then, a man came running up to Socrates, all excited. "I just heard some news about your friend," he said, trying to catch his breath.
Now Socrates always stayed very calm and cool. He took his time before answering. "Hold on a second," he said in his deep, slow voice. "Before you tell me anything, let's test what you heard with my three filters."
The other man looked confused. "Filters?" he asked.
"Yes," Socrates said with a little smile. "Before you talk about other people, you need to check what you're gonna say three ways. The first is TRUTH. Is what you heard for sure true?"
"Well, someone else told me," the man said, starting to lose his confidence.
Socrates nodded, his eyes twinkling. "So you don't know if it's true. Okay, let's try the second filter - KINDNESS. Is this news about my friend something good?"
Now the other man's face got red. "No, it's not good at all."
"Hmm," thought Socrates out loud. "So it might not be true and it's not good. Maybe it will pass the third filter - USEFULNESS. Will telling me help me at all?"
The man shook his head, looking embarrassed now. "No, probably not."
Socrates stayed very calm as always. "Then what you heard fails all three filters," he said. "If it's not true, good, or useful, why did you want to share it?"
The man stumbled over his words, "I, uh, I don't know." https://a.co/d/7Iplfjz
Socrates looked right at him, speaking softly. "Gossip is like poison, my friend. At first it may seem fun, but in the end it leaves a bad taste in your heart."
With his head down, the man nodded and went back into the crowd, leaving Socrates alone again in the sunshine. His wise words shone as bright as the hot Athenian sun that day.
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