SPEAK, LISTEN…

They say, “Be quiet.

”Don’t say what’s on your mind.

If you do, you’ll be misunderstood.

Or worse, they won’t understand at all.

But what does it even mean to be understood?

Has anyone ever truly understood another without filters, without bias?

Are the ears listening?

Or is it the mind?

Because the ears take what they hear

and mix it with their own experiences,

adding a layer of interpretation.

Like cheese melting into bread in a toaster.

Once that heat fuses them together,

is the bread still bread?Is the cheese still cheese?

Or has it become a cheese toast?

In the same way, the listener creates a toast of meaning

from what I say and what they already hold inside them.

So how can we expect perfect understanding?

Silence, then, is pointless.

But so is waiting for people to understand exactly as we intended.

So speak.

Let others listen.

Let them speak.

And you, listen.

Express.

Let expression be allowed.

Because they say the biggest problem in relationships is lack of communication.

And yet, they say: “Stay silent.”

And then, when you speak, they say: “They won’t understand.”

And yet, they never stop talking.

So, speak. Express. Talk. Listen, listen, listen.