Virtue 2: Silence

"Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; Avoid trifling Conversation"

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt". ~ Mark Twain
Silence is really one of the hardest things to practice. No offense but especially to women. I find that sometimes, I JUST CAN"T SHUT UP!. Its a disease.
but Why is silence a virtue?
Have you ever tuned out or tried to tune out everything, to just have silence? Other might call this inner peace, but essentially, to be silent is to find peace. Or the inner escape.
BF however speak of silence as basically "know when to speak, and when you do, make sure it is not rubbish"
I mean, how hard is that, in this modern world...where technology is king, and you can speak without ever having to open your mouth. We have twitter, facebook, myspace, Hi5 and my favorite, Bebo---all which really point to our vanity.
So how do we avoid being so trifling in our conversations?
Here are a few things you could do:
1. Don’t talk on your cell phone when you have a captive audience.
It needs not explanation...it is simply rude.

2. Don’t talk or answer your cell phone while talking to ANYONE in person.
I am yet to meet anyone who loves to be the third party in at two-way conversation. Not cool

3. Don’t use your phone in any place in which people expect a certain atmosphere.
like the Libraries, Banks..if you speak in a restaurant, don't be the idiot who speaks loudly for everyone to know what you are saying.

4. Never say something to a stranger on the internet that you would not say to a stranger in person.
As if the internet is not full of rubbish already. Think before you write.

5. Don’t attack people personally
listen, it is everyone's prerogative to have an opinion and to disagree with anyone. But do not attack them personally. That is not only uncalled for, but is show poor means of argument.

6. Don’t just debunk things
GUILTY as charged. I love to disagree, but do not just disagree for the sake of disagreeing. Do not be mean just to be mean...and by goodness sake, do not be a cynic unless you have some good points to make.

7. Stop the excessive vulgarity
Nothing shows a juvenile mentality and a lack of class like excessive vulgarity. If you need to use these words, then there is really nothing meaningful that you needed to say. I mean, getting salty in a conversation is not a crime, but if every three words are followed by F- then you might need to go back to language school.