August 1, 2014 Chautauqua

Beth's Ponderings

   If you could say anything to anyone, what would you say?  
 
   I came across the above thought in a book I read recently.  Now, there are different ways of looking at this.  

   You could look at it from the angle of what wisdom would you like to leave behind for people as your personal legacy.  

   Or, you could approach it from the angle of healing a troubled relationship - past or present.  Or, do you need to say something to end a current relationship that is poisoning your life?

   Perhaps there is someone you really want to meet - famous or otherwise - whom you’d love to ask that single burning question that has been circling around your brain forever.

   Ever been in a situation where you couldn’t think of what to say at the time but had a great reply or rebuttal hours later?  

  You can probably think of someone, or a group of people, for all the above scenarios, as well as some I may have missed.

   So...if you could say anything, what would you say?

   So many of us think that we can’t say what we want, or need to say, because we fear the other person’s reaction, or because the person has died, or because we feel the person is too far out of reach for us to contact.

   But we don’t have to actually say it to the person.  Yes, we often feel we need to be acknowledged, listened to, and understood, but the most important aspect of this is not the other person.  

   And you can put your fears and concerns totally on hold.  Write it down.  Go somewhere where you are completely alone and say it aloud as you picture the person in front of you.  

   If you feel comfortable after that step, you can share it with the person if possible, however, that step isn’t really necessary because after you say what you need to say, you will probably be quite surprised to discover that what you said isn’t for the other person after all, but rather something you needed to hear at this time.

      What is it that you, and only you, can express, to be fully you? 

Beth

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