Friday, August 12, 2005

Fool In Doubt

TODAY'S QUOTE:
Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt. Abraham Lincoln, (attributed) 16th president of US (1809 - 1865)

I think one speed and speak another, careful to consider what I think before I try to say it. I do not take extra time because of fear of sounding foolish, although I do not enjoy the notion, but to make myself clear enough to avoid misunderstandings. People have a habit of manipulating words to suit their means and I wish mine to be as untwistable as possible.
Silence is a safe place, I lived there for years and know well that many populate it out of fear. And most of the fright that drives a human to almost total silence comes from constant belittling when they do speak. I know that nothing sent me running for cover faster than a finger in my face and a irate voice saying, "Don't you even dare open that mouth."
For twenty years I dared little, but in all that time I never stopped thinking. A mountain of things left unsaid finally built enough pressure to force a change in my landscape forever. Silence of that sort is a prison, finding my voice was difficult, yet worth the struggle.
The lucky ones visit its golden terrain with confidence. They know that when you prattle you lose the audiences attention. Oral diarrhea is a common condition with some who seem to care more about the volume of words said than their content. My voice is lovely, but I do not get joy out of speaking just for the sake of listening to it. What is said and how I say it is my concern, after all the years of enforced silence saying something worth listening to is joyful.

THINK ABOUT IT
LET IT GROW
THEN DECIDE