Say what you need to say.

Say something.

Say Anything.

In seeking to be seen and heard, is there such a thing as too open? Too honest? I’ve been talking to Offspring No. 3 about the idea holding back thoughts, ideas and fears not as repression, but as a power play. As my social circle has diminished over the years, a large part of the paring comes from learning that most people, given the chance, will use your words against you. Sometimes with good intentions, sometimes unintentionally. I once believed that there was no such thing as oversharing, sharing too much, being too transparent, too honest. But the years (and people) have taught me that wearing my heart on my sleeve and exposing myself can be more of a liability, and there’s a lot of power to be had by holding back.

Learning that some people - hell, most people - don’t deserve to know your deepest fears, your most profound thoughts, is one of the biggest and hardest lessons. Learning to say less, listen more, to watch, to observe and absorb and withhold unsolicited input goes against the opinionated grain that the self-absorbed world around us has normalized.

Every one of us is convinced of the value of our opinion. Of the validity of our fear. Of the correctness of our idea. More often than not, My ideas, fears and thoughts have turned out to be wrong, silly or unfounded… but once they’ve been unleashed on the world, good luck getting them back.

There’s power in understanding that less can be so much more when it comes to communicating, and it’s not repression, or suppression, or being seen and not heard. It’s reserving the best parts of you for the audience that deserves it. The ones who ask. The ones who will listen. The ones who will hear. Nobody else really needs to know where I stand, or how I feel, and that’s not dishonest.