Common Butterfly

“I have been ‘taught’ many lessons in my life. Two, old fashioned and maybe a tad preachy, words of advice have always served me well. Number one, my Grandma taught me that speaking about someone should have the same rule as rinsing fruit. Three times. You wash those thoughts through three times before they go near your mouth. Think before you set them free. Not about how sassy it sounds, nor how much it will draw in your hungry audience, but about the real person at the heart of your words. Always consider the effect that you can have. Just because someone is putting themselves out there, and even if they have been paid to do so, they do not ‘deserve it’. They do not ‘have it coming’. Never. No one deserves to be bullied. Ever. There’s no excuse. Ever. Number 2? My dad's most important lesson is a go to for any situation. “If you do not like what you see and you can help, why wouldn’t you? If you cannot leave it how you found it, leave it better.” If you do not like what you see, if you do not agree, and you are not willing to turn up the dial of empathy and learn, or even help, then move on by. Let someone else willing to step up get in there. If you are not happy with what you see and you are not, with a good heart, trying to make things better, then shuffle that butt out the way. Do not, for all that is good in the world, throw in a grenade and cause even more destruction. That does not make you a good person and you are certainly in no position to judge anyone else.” There was a palpable silence. “I’ve missed good old ranty pub conversations”, she laughed. ​ ------ ​ Copyright © Highcroft Writing 2018 ​ #flashfiction #highcroftwriting #originalwriting