In a world full of words, we remain silent, immersed in our thoughts. In a world full of words, I find it strange that we – I include myself – prefer to remain silent, to keep things to ourselves or, more precisely, to limit our words and then hope that others will understand us. I find it strange that we “complain” about the misunderstanding with others, our own or not, since we don’t speak openly about what we want.

In a world full of hustle and bustle, we chose tranquility, creating a mosaic of silence, amidst the buzz. We discovered beauty in the awkward silences, in the empty pauses laden with unacknowledged emotions, in a culture that lives within the words. Silence is not a sign of apathy. Silence is a reflection of how deep we are in our thoughts. We found solace in the nuances of unwritten language, gestures and looks when everyone around us was fighting verbal battles.

But don’t words exist so that we can hear and see their beauty?

These thoughts often cross my mind. I see people on the street walking silently. They look down or focus straight on their destination. They march at a pace. Fast, slow, bored, tired. They don’t talk, they just think. I wonder if they think the same as me.

Perhaps we remain silent because we are afraid. We keep our words and our words by choice. Fear defeats us. The fear of asking something lest we disturb, the fear of saying something that will not sound good, the fear of rejection and so many others.

If you sit down to think about it, it’s silly and seems unreal. Looking back, there have been many moments and things that I have gotten, simply because I reached out, asked for it, and just said it! And once I realize that I can’t always have what I’m not willing to ask for, life seems easier.

You have nothing to lose by speaking up

You may think it doesn’t make sense, but when you talk, a new path opens up. When you ask for what you want, you might get it. If you share your problem, you might find a solution. If you decide to communicate your needs, they may be met. If you don’t, nothing will change. It will stay inside you and no one will know.

Ask for what you want, ask for what you need, claim it. There aren’t many options. Either they’ll give it to you or they won’t. Either the answer will be positive or negative. And even though it might be hard to hear the disagreements and the “no’s,” at least you’ll have tried. And in the end, all that matters is what you can control. Focus on that.