I don’t want to stay quiet.
I will not quiet my voice for your comfort.
I will not hold back my opinion even if it is one I worry you will not like. I will not simply keep my words to myself, even if in the end what I have to say is wrong. For right or wrong, my words deserve to be heard just as much as yours. I will speak my truth, and not just because I don’t know how to keep my mouth shut, but because I don’t want to. Keeping my truth to myself is in fact more detrimental to the conversation than opening up, and living loud.
I see men/women everyday with words harvesting in their throats, many times these are the same people who swallow them. Hide their words from the world. This word-hiding is a defense mechanism, one that guards he/she of any repercussions that their words might bring up. This hide and seek game makes me sad, for we are missing out on beautiful words and points of others. Even not so beautiful words still deserve to be heard, and can be ground-breaking, world-changing, points.
We should encourage one another to share, to live loud if you will. Sure, it may be scary to raise your hand and ask the question you don’t know the answer to, or to speak up on a topic you disagree with. I am not saying that opening our mouths, and hearts, is an easy feat by any means- however it is a necessary one. In order to have honest and open communication we all better start being open and honest. Not just with those around us, but also with ourselves.
I triple dog dare you to speak up, to live loud, to be open, to be honest, and to communicate in a way that embodies all of these things. I promise you will find yourself having better conversations, ones that fill you up and light your flame.
Don’t hide your fire, for together, our sparks can form one heck of a flame.
Originally published at medium.com