The weight of unspoken words.

SILENCE IS GOLDEN.

The urge to spill out what is in one's stomach, the desire to let someone know that we are not satisfied with what they did or say, the feeling that we can say anything we want without repercussions have halted the growth of many, deprived many of great opportunities, and caused many heart breaks. Words (written or spoken) are like glass, once they are spilled out, they can never be retracted. You can apologise for spilling out words that should not be spilled out, but you cannot repair the damaging effects those words might have had on the recipient.

Baruch Spinoza in his words said, "The world will be happier if men had the same capacity to be silent, that they have to speak." We do not necessarily have to respond to everything that happens to us, and around us. The words we say will always be definite carrying a definite meaning, but rather than respond in words, if we respond with silence, we would have spoken more words than to open our mouth to speak. The words in silence are unquantifiable, they are indefinite, and we cannot be held responsible for it.

Whatever you have said, you are liable for even if you regret saying it; but you can never be held responsible for something you did not say, even if your heart is boiling and so many words are forming up in your head. You may want to prove some points by saying so many things, but much more will be said if you choose silence. Most times, it is in that moment that we are tempted and pushed to pour out our anger in words that we need to be quiet the most. If we know how not to talk, we must also learn when not to talk.

Try as much as possible to suppress the urge to say something always, your life will be happier with less words spoken. In the multitude of words a man willfully declares his foolishness. Williams Shakespeare once said, "The silence, often of pure innocence, persuades where speaking fails. We cannot fully understand the power of silence, and what we stand to gain from it, until we begin to practise it. The more silent we become, the more words that will be heard by those who expects us to speak.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.