I'm of the belief if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!<br /> <br /> I know many will not agree with me, and that's OK as I do understand. I break the rule myself sometimes (a lot with my loved ones), but I do try to live by it. I don't take criticism well I'll admit, but I do welcome it; it's the manner in which it's delivered that I may not like at the time.<br /> <br /> My fellow poet friend John Cornick's viewpoint on unfavorable comments is in my books if we feel deeply about something we should not hesitate to express those feelings, no matter how repetitive it may seem to others; repetition is a sign of the depth of feeling being expressed I do concur and beg to differ at the same time (is this considered an oxymoron?). I try not to make unfavorable comments, and refrain from saying anything negative at all. That could be a good and/or a bad thing!<br /> <br /> I definitely may not be the best person to take shopping with you as I'm not the most forthcoming. But I will be honest in a nice way; I will say yea or ney but I will never ever say yea to does this make me look big? Nor will I criticize a person's efforts on a poem, article or story; unless they intentionally set out to hurt another party. If a person takes the time and effort to sit down and write something than I believe that it should be appreciated. Especially if it could cause a person to experience writer's block, which is not a very pretty thing indeed.<br /> <br /> I read an interesting article recently Why we're nicer to strangers than the people we love most and 3 ways to fix the problem before it's too late by Alex Lickerman M.D.<br /> <br /> It's bizarre how we can be nicer to strangers than to our own family. It's like we value what a stranger thinks of us over what our own family thinks of us-maybe its because we know our family will love us know matter what. But we should try to be on even keel with everyone, no matter who they are-note to self! I swear I write a lot of blogs as reminders to myself.<br /> <br /> I will repeat this quote over and over, and over again (as you may have noticed) Be kind to one another Ellen DeGeneres. I&acirc;��m a big quote lover/dropper-my favorite column in the Reader's Digest magazine is the Quotable Quotes section; I read it first every time.<br /> <br /> Take care (&amp; please be kind w/criticism) and all the best~Celeste<br /> <br /> www.talesfromaway.com   Submitted By: Alicia "Celeste" Loughrey