TONGUE-TIED

VERBAL COMMUNICATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR ME, MAKING ME HYPERAWARE OF ITS LIMITATIONS. OUR ABILITY TO EXTERNALISE THOUGHTS RELIES HEAVILY ON A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF TERMINOLOGY, YET WORDS CAN HOLD RADICALLY DIFFERENT MEANINGS FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE. AS SENTENCES ARE BUILT, THE POTENTIAL FOR MISUNDERSTANDING MULTIPLIES.

I’VE ENCOUNTERED PEOPLE WHO LEVERAGE THIS FLAW TO WEAVE LONG, VERBOSE MONOLOGUES THAT ULTIMATELY SAY VERY LITTLE. AND YET, PERHAPS PART OF ME ENVIES THIS ABILITY—TO NAVIGATE LANGUAGE IN A WAY THAT COMMANDS ATTENTION, EVEN IF IT LACKS SUBSTANCE. I SOMETIMES WISH I COULD DO THE SAME, TO MAKE A CASE FOR WHAT I BELIEVE AND PRESENT MY IDEAS WITH A CONVICTION THAT PERSUADES.

DESPITE THIS, I CAN’T SHAKE THE IDEA THAT MAYBE I’M NOT MEANT TO MAKE MY CASE VERBALLY. PERHAPS MY FOCUS SHOULD BE ON PRACTICE—ON BRINGING FORTH FRUIT THROUGH ACTION RATHER THAN WORDS. IN THE END, WHAT WE PRODUCE, NOT WHAT WE SAY, IS THE TRUE MEASURE OF OUR BELIEFS.