Do you ever offer a word or two of advice and then get a response by a look or words that infer, "Advice not welcome or needed." I think that happens to all of us, and sometimes we may understand that in that situation we actually did give advice when we should not have spoken, and other times we may think, I know they may think they don't want that advice, but I'm glad I planted the seed anyways as in time, they may think more on my advice and find it useful.
So many times in life, people have advised me when I haven't been ready to hear the advice. Only recently, I recalled a time when one of my aunts gave me a piece of advice that I scoffed at. Now, some 35 years later, I am heeding her advice--I wasn't ready for the advice then, and what she didn't understand is that I wouldn't be ready for that advice until now--now I know what she meantt and now I am taking that advice.
Good advice can serve a person right away or it can simply be a seed that sprouts at some later time. Bad advice, on the other hand, is advice that doesn't understand all the issues at play. Not too long ago, I advised a family member about a big purchase. Fortunately, when giving the advice, I did say, take it from who I am--a person who doesn't know all the details. This was fortunate, because my loved one did not take my advice and made a choice that turned out to be much better than what I advised him. I truly didn't know all the details, and later when I learned those details, it made sense that he did what he did, and he definitely made the right decision.
We have to think carefully about the advice we give and who we give it to. Yet, we also shouldn't shy away from giving advice if we note that our advice is only meant to help, and it may not be the right advice for the moment--it's simply the way we see it from our experiences and perspectives at that time. Then we have to be open to how that advice is interpreted and used--that's not for us to decide. Onward.