Good morning from Madrid. Today is Wednesday. If you’re new to Dear Constance, or you happen to stumble upon this episode, on Wednesdays we ask questions. I offer questions that can be rhetorical questions, beautiful questions that we need to ponder – that we don’t have to have an answer for. And sometimes they’re just practical questions.

Today I’m going to repurpose a question that I put forth a long time ago that many people loved, but before I do so I’m going to read something to you. .

As I mentioned in a previous podcast, I’m listening to the David Whyte series – that’s David Whyte, the Poet Philosopher. It’s called ‘Three Wednesdays in November’ and David cited something by the poet William Stafford. It’s very short, it’s only five lines, and it’s this.

The things you do not have to say make you rich. The things you do not have to say make you rich. Saying things you do not have to say weakens your talk. Hearing the things you do not need to hear dulls your hearing. And the things you know before you hear them. These are you and why you are in the world.

Let me read that again. The things you do not say make you rich. Saying the things you do not have to say weakens your talk. Hearing the things you do not need to hear dulls your hearing. And the things you know before you hear them, these are you and why you are in the world.  Before I go into the question, what I want to say is I think this speaks well also to the most recent episodes when I was talking about distractions and the power of deliberate attention and how we direct our attention. I just love that.

Let’s go on to today’s question. The question which I mentioned in one of the very early episodes of Dear Constance is this. Why am I talking? And I love the acronym WAIT. W-A-I-T Why am I talking?

I think this William Stafford piece that I just read speaks not only to wait why am I talking but also to being careful about what you listen to –  and listening to your hear. Because the things you know before you hear them, those are you and why you’re in the world

I think that’s good food for thought. The things you do not have to say make you rich and saying the things you do not have to say weakens your talk. I’ll leave you with that for today. Until next time, from my heart to yours.