Letters to a New Generation
A Conversation
“Sometimes people take you more seriously if you talk quietly instead of yelling at them.” I rubbed my socked foot against the dog's belly and glanced at the boy across from me.
“Yeah, well, I have to yell or else no one listens to me!”
“Are you being serious right now? Like – “
“What do you mean?” He cast a suspicious glare in my direction.
“I mean, are you being really serious right now? As you're talking to me?”
“Yes!”
“And you say that you honestly want people to be corrected in their judgments about you, right?”
“Yeah...”
I think he started to see where I was going with this. “But can't you tell them the facts without getting loud or angry?”
For the first time then, he was silent. When he spoke again, it was softer and more reserved. “I try, but it's hard.”
I could feel my eyes soften as well. “I know.”
For a few moment we didn't say anything at all. There was a million things I wanted to say, but I took the time to put the main ones into words. The swirling mass of confusion suddenly became more confident and I even started to smile a little bit. “I just realized something. You want to know what I realized?”
“Sure.” He sounded curt and glum, but I smiled wider anyway.
“You are not your thoughts. If you were your thoughts, you wouldn't be able to tell you were thinking.”
At this he brightened up a bit. “Yeah... you're right. You know the Egyptians used to think that your thoughts were in your heart.”
I laughed. “So maybe they felt like they were thinking from their chest.”
“They did!” he assured me – and himself.
“It's interesting to think about,” I smiled again as we finally stood and made our way up the stairs. The dog followed at a lazy pace, already half-asleep. “So you shouldn't be angry when someone has the wrong opinion about you. Because opinions are only thoughts. And most likely their opinion is about your thoughts as well, not you.”
I just wish you won't forget it in the morning.
“Yeah, well, I have to yell or else no one listens to me!”
“Are you being serious right now? Like – “
“What do you mean?” He cast a suspicious glare in my direction.
“I mean, are you being really serious right now? As you're talking to me?”
“Yes!”
“And you say that you honestly want people to be corrected in their judgments about you, right?”
“Yeah...”
I think he started to see where I was going with this. “But can't you tell them the facts without getting loud or angry?”
For the first time then, he was silent. When he spoke again, it was softer and more reserved. “I try, but it's hard.”
I could feel my eyes soften as well. “I know.”
For a few moment we didn't say anything at all. There was a million things I wanted to say, but I took the time to put the main ones into words. The swirling mass of confusion suddenly became more confident and I even started to smile a little bit. “I just realized something. You want to know what I realized?”
“Sure.” He sounded curt and glum, but I smiled wider anyway.
“You are not your thoughts. If you were your thoughts, you wouldn't be able to tell you were thinking.”
At this he brightened up a bit. “Yeah... you're right. You know the Egyptians used to think that your thoughts were in your heart.”
I laughed. “So maybe they felt like they were thinking from their chest.”
“They did!” he assured me – and himself.
“It's interesting to think about,” I smiled again as we finally stood and made our way up the stairs. The dog followed at a lazy pace, already half-asleep. “So you shouldn't be angry when someone has the wrong opinion about you. Because opinions are only thoughts. And most likely their opinion is about your thoughts as well, not you.”
I just wish you won't forget it in the morning.