Dear Gossiper
Dear Gossiper,
Perhaps you didn’t mean to hurt when those words slipped from your tongue and into the burning ears of somebody else. Perhaps you thought that those rumours you whispered into a single set of ears would remain dormant there.
You were wrong. You were the host in a parasitic relationship. Gossip is the parasite and you gave it strength by allowing it to multiply in your own body and mind. You spread its disease with your loose tongue so’s it could infest other hosts.
Did you use that golden nugget of information as your social currency? Was that instantaneous kick of knowing more than another, worth knowing that you can never recover your words. In that moment you were worse than a thief because you stole another persons reputation, their dignity, their honour and their right to defend themselves. In your fleeting moment of power, you robbed a person of attributes that are impossible to restore.
In spreading fire you burnt down the self-worth of your victim, which is funny because perhaps it was your own low self-esteem that led to your idle chat. A saying has it that ”strong minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events and weak minds discuss people.” Knowing another’s weakness was as if a mirror was held to reflect your own; the only way you could process it was to shine the spotlight onto somebody else. Gossip reflects the insecurity of those who initiate it. Gossip. Even its name hisses. It is the colour of burning envy, the shape of sticky tar, the stench of sulphurous gas.
So, in reading this, I hope you realise that broken bones from sticks and stones will heal but your words may take much longer. Know that like a fire, a rumour will die down without kindling and attention, so feed the fire with caution.
And, If you continue to feed the parasite named Gossip then remind yourself on how a parasite lives off it’s host, sucking its goodness until there is nothing left.
