i carry your heart with me

Poetry....it says so much.   Emotions spill out on the page.  Thoughts, meanings, feelings laid bare in the nuances and cadence of words.

This....this poem...is one of my favorites...and holds great meaning for me.

i carry your heart with me

Words

Sometimes words fail me. Oh perhaps the more accurate statement is my voice fails me.   I am a relatively smart person.  I have fairly good grasp of the English language, my vocabulary is broad, I'm knowledgeable of current events, I'm well read, and I have opinions.

With all of that going for me, I find it difficult to speak - with a modicum of intelligence - in certain instances.   

I listen as others voice opinions.  I have my own.  But I seldom voice them.  On the rare occasion that I do, I find myself feeling uncomfortable and uneasy.   I hear a voice in my head saying "you're not interesting enough for them to listen to you," or I feel all eyes on me and I want to shrink in to the background.

I've taught classes in front of hundreds of insurance professionals, I've taught software demonstrations to insurance agents, taught yoga to hundreds of students, stress management to correctional employees and never batted an eye.   But to voice an opinion in a group of people?  Oh  Hell No!  LOL

My father used to say that if you wanted to lose family and friendships, all you needed to do was 1) loan them money and 2) talk politics and religion.    Two things, I might add, that my father never did.   Perhaps I'm taking after my  father?     Opinions should be kept to myself, yes?   Or do I fear losing people close to me by telling them how I really feel.   

Then there is the old adage:  "Better to let them think you a fool, than to open mouth and prove it."    Maybe that is where I get my reservation from.    

I'm a strong, articulate woman.....who is perfectly fine letting others speak their minds.   I'll keep my opinions to myself, I won't lose relationships, and no one will think I'm the fool!  😉