Maybe It’s Not That You Lost Your Voice But That You Just Stopped Speaking

Maybe it’s not that you lost your voice, maybe it’s just that you stopped speaking.

Maybe you stopped speaking because you were tired. Tired of shouting, of yelling and screaming. Sometimes being loud is fun and invigorating — and sometimes it’s just exhausting. And that exhaustion can ache in your body and weigh heavy on your heart. Maybe you were tired of raising your voice above the noise so that those around you would listen to your words. Maybe you got tired of speaking and feeling like the words just disappeared when they left your lips and entered the air. Maybe you realized that screaming and yelling and shouting at people doesn’t make them listen.

Maybe you stopped speaking because you weren’t sure how to make people listen anymore. Maybe you felt like you had more listening to do, and not just to the people around you. But maybe it’s about listening to yourself — to your own thoughts, to your own ideas, and to your own dreams. Maybe you stopped speaking because you wanted to listen to them more. Listening to them let you sort out the thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Listening let you dig deeper into figuring out how to make sense of it all.

Maybe you stopped speaking because you wanted to do more. Maybe you felt like that shouting, yelling, screaming, and listening was leaving you feeling empty. And so you decided to write the book instead of speaking about it. You painted the picture instead of describing it. You finally wrote the song after years of humming it. Maybe you donated to your favorite charities or politicians or causes that you believe in instead of just talking about it. Maybe you planted that garden, or went on that run, or started eating better. Maybe.

Maybe you learned that silence is okay sometimes. Maybe you learned that even the quietest humans can have a voice that both roars and whispers — and that your voice is always there, whether or not your choose to open your mouth.

Maybe.