When my voice is stilled

WISE MEN SPEAK BECAUSE THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY; FOOLS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING – PLATO

When you have something to say, silence is a lie. - Jordan B. Peterson

As I grow older and watch my grandchildren grow and explore the world around them, I am reminded of the joy of learning, experience, and discovering that you have something to contribute to the world around you. Of course, I am also inevitably drawn to an ever-expanding awareness that my own contributions will one day come to an end.

In my own journey, I have always felt a keen obligation to share the things that I've learned with others. In doing so, it has always been my hope that I might be of some help or assistance to others with their own journey. I am also aware that some folks will regard the notion that I might have anything worthwhile to contribute to someone else as the epitome of hubris. Nevertheless, I find that I have always been very willing to own and admit the mistakes I've made along the way, and that I have always been motivated by a desire to prevent others from suffering from the same errors in judgment and reasoning which have impeded my journey. If that is arrogance, then I guess that this will serve as an admission of guilt.

At any rate, when my own voice is inevitably silenced, I hope that my heirs (familial, spiritual, and intellectual) will feel this same compulsion to share with and help others of their kind along their way. To be sure, there are occasions when it is best to remain silent, and the opportunities for listening and observing must never be ignored or intentionally missed. Even so, I hope that my own memorial will record that I have had something to say, NOT that I had to say something.