麻豆约拍

From Father Brian D鈥橝rcy, a Catholic Passionist priest:

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I鈥檝e been a journalist all my life and by now I鈥檝e learned what works and what doesn鈥檛. Much as I hate to admit it, good writing doesn鈥檛 sell papers but gossip does.

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The ancient philosopher Socrates described gossip perfectly when he wrote: 鈥淪trong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events and weak minds discuss people.鈥�

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Like many of us I enjoy gossip as long as it isn鈥檛 about me, though there is some truth in what Oscar Wilde believed: 鈥淚f there is anything more annoying in the world than having people talk about you, it鈥檚 having no one to talk about you.鈥�

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Gossip sells. The celebrity industry is built on it; yet that doesn鈥檛 make it right as any victim of gossip will tell you.

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Much gossip is harmless. A good old moan about difficult colleagues or about those in authority, can act as release valve.听 However malicious gossip is different and is a form bullying. It destroys trust, creates a horrible atmosphere and is capable of driving the victim to despair. It鈥檚 impossible to undo the damage. A victim told me recently that trying to squash a malicious rumour is like trying to un-ring a bell.

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Life has taught me never to trust a gossiper 鈥� those who gossip to you will just as easily gossip about you.听 Crucially it鈥檚 important to have a strategy for dealing with malicious gossip.

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Ignore it if you can. I鈥檝e learned that whilst I may not be able to control what people say about me I can control how I react to it. Just remember no one gossips about other peoples鈥� virtues. So don鈥檛 be dragged down by their talk.

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Live by the principle: 鈥淭here is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that it doesn鈥檛 suit any of us to gossip about the rest of us.鈥�

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Keep things in perspective for as the actor, Will Rogers said: 鈥淎 real Christian is someone who lives their life so they wouldn鈥檛 be ashamed to] sell the family parrot to the town gossip.鈥�