--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I should sell my tongue and buy a…" description: "\"I should sell my tongue and buy a thousand ears when that One steps near and begins to speak.\" — Rumi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b26/rumi-56_ears_i-should-sell-my-tongue-and-buy-a-thousa_2372830.jpg" --- # I should sell my tongue and buy a thousand ears when that… ![“I should sell my tongue and buy a thousand ears when that One steps near and begins to speak.” quote by Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b26/rumi-56_ears_i-should-sell-my-tongue-and-buy-a-thousa_2372830.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b26/rumi-56_ears_i-should-sell-my-tongue-and-buy-a-thousa_2372830.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b26/rumi-56_ears_i-should-sell-my-tongue-and-buy-a-thousa_2372830.jpg) > “I should sell my tongue and buy a thousand ears when that One steps near and begins to speak.” [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Listening deeply is more valuable than speaking; seek to understand before you respond. **In simple terms:** Listen more, speak less. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy by prioritizing listening over talking. Themes empathy communication understanding humility growth Mood contemplative inspirational Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - counseling sessions - team meetings - conflict resolution - personal introspection Key Concepts active listening mindful speech self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - How can you improve your listening habits? - What does “selling your tongue” symbolize? A Different Perspective Speaking without listening can cause misinterpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Begins Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begins-speak-580724/) [Buy Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buy-thousand-2948772/) [Ears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears/) [Sell Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sell-tongue-5849908/) [Sells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sells/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) [Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue/) [Tongue Buy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue-buy-5849909/) ## Related quotes > [“i buy a thousand pound a year! i buy a rope!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-buy-a-thousand-pound-a-year-i-buy-a-rope/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A child, when it begins to speak, learns what it is that it knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hall-wheelock/a-child-when-it-begins-to-speak-learns-what-it-is-that-it-knows/) [John Hall Wheelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hall-wheelock/) > [“As human beings, how do we choose to react in that instant when someone walks toward us, smiles, and begins to speak?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-deck/as-human-beings-how-do-we-choose-to-react-in-that-instant-when/) [Jeff Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-deck/) > [Sell your presence and purchase bewilderment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/sell-your-presence-and-purchase-bewilderment/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Explanation by the tongue makes most things clear, But love unexplained is clearer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/explanation-by-the-tongue-makes-most-things-clear-but-love/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Every artist obviously wants to sell a million records and do the MTV cribs thing, but I'm realistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jd-era/every-artist-obviously-wants-to-sell-a-million-records-and-do-the-mtv/) [JD Era](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jd-era/) > [Weight justly and sell dearely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/weight-justly-and-sell-dearely/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [I don't sell cosmetics, I sell hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-arden/i-don-t-sell-cosmetics-i-sell-hope/) [Elizabeth Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-arden/) > [I'm the easiest person to sell as a villain. Because of my flamboyant lifestyle, because of me being German, the way I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-dotcom/i-m-the-easiest-person-to-sell-as-a-villain-because-of-my-flamboyant/) [Kim Dotcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-dotcom/) > [What is entrepreneurship, after all? Bigness is not the issue. Poor people are the ones who take challenges every day. The guy who sells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/what-is-entrepreneurship-after-all-bigness-is-not-the-issue-poor/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [My biggest advice would be to take the pictures you want to take. Don’t think about the marketplace, what sells or what an editor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lachapelle/my-biggest-advice-would-be-to-take-the-pictures-you-want-to-take-don/) [David LaChapelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lachapelle/) > [ I think it is worse \[in 2015\] for a mid-list author such as myself. You either have to sell like Stephen King or go… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-p-kinsella/i-think-it-is-worse-in-2015-for-a-mid-list-author-such-as-myself-you/) [W. P. 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We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-began-as-mineral-we-emerged-into-plant-life-and-into-the-animal/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [There is a morning inside you waiting to burst open into light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-a-morning-inside-you-waiting-to-burst-open-into-light/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Sometimes you hear a voice through the door calling you... This turning toward what you deeply love saves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/sometimes-you-hear-a-voice-through-the-door-calling-you-this-turning/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“You’ve so distracted me, your absence fans my love. Don’t ask how. Then you come near. “Do not…” I say, and “Do not…,” you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-ve-so-distracted-me-your-absence-fans-my-love-don-t-ask-how-then/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [There is something to be said for anyone who sits alone with dignity and silently begs for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-something-to-be-said-for-anyone-who-sits-alone-with-dignity/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Tis easy to break an idol, very easy: to regard the self as easy to subdue is folly, folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/tis-easy-to-break-an-idol-very-easy-to-regard-the-self-as-easy-to/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Today, let us swim wildly, joyously in gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/today-let-us-swim-wildly-joyously-in-gratitude/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I have no name for what circles so perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-have-no-name-for-what-circles-so-perfectly/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [What draws friends together does not conform to the laws of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/what-draws-friends-together-does-not-conform-to-the-laws-of-nature/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [We are born of love. Love is our mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-are-born-of-love-love-is-our-mother/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Water, stories, the body, all the things we do, are mediums that hid and show what's hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/water-stories-the-body-all-the-things-we-do-are-mediums-that-hid-and/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [If your heart isn't yet illumined Be awake always, be a seeker of the heart, Be at war continually with your carnal soul. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/if-your-heart-isn-t-yet-illumined-be-awake-always-be-a-seeker-of-the/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“I came back to You because I could not find the kind and decent things I found in You anywhere else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-came-back-to-you-because-i-could-not-find-the-kind-and-decent/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) [Explore all 1,818 Rumi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## More Ears quotes > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Somehow the river is louder when you cover your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/somehow-the-river-is-louder-when-you-cover-your-ears/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [Men trust rather to their eyes than to their ears; the effect of precepts is therefore slow and tedious, whilst that of examples is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-trust-rather-to-their-eyes-than-to-their-ears-the-effect-of/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [The more that you act on your intuition fearlessly, the more your intuition will serve you. Intuition is the ear of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-more-that-you-act-on-your-intuition-fearlessly-the-more-your/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [it'll be this kind of deep blue”she said. “The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/it-ll-be-this-kind-of-deep-blue-she-said-the-kind-of-color-that/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) [Browse all 2,987 Ears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I should sell my tongue and buy a thousand ears when that One steps near and begins to speak.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rumi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-should-sell-my-tongue-and-buy-a-thousand-ears-when-that-one-steps/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ears" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-should-sell-my-tongue-and-buy-a-thousand-ears-when-that-one-steps/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b26/rumi-56_ears_i-should-sell-my-tongue-and-buy-a-thousa_2372830.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b26/rumi-56_ears_i-should-sell-my-tongue-and-buy-a-thousa_2372830.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b26/rumi-56_ears_i-should-sell-my-tongue-and-buy-a-thousa_2372830.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I should sell my tongue and buy a thousand ears when that One steps near and begins to speak.” — Rumi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rumi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I should sell my tongue and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-should-sell-my-tongue-and-buy-a-thousand-ears-when-that-one-steps/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-should-sell-my-tongue-and-buy-a-thousand-ears-when-that-one-steps/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```