The other day a beautiful friend left a comment on one of my pictures. We haven’t seen each other for years, due to us both leaving New Zealand. She said ‘I miss you, and I genuinely mean that, I’m not just saying it’. Well, didn’t that just make my day!
These days, we’re all guilty of being fake. I remember when someone who I had barely conversed properly with (but we had loads of mutual friends) said she missed me. I was totally perplexed and frustrated, because HOW THE HELL could she miss me? Um, she didn’t know me. I know it’s not a big deal, but it got to me. Empty words.
“Mean what you say and say what you mean.” -Dr. Seuss
I don’t know will.i.am personally, but I massively fancy him and have made a few assumptions while watching him on The Voice UK. My bestie and I agreed that he doesn’t say a lot, but what he does say, he well and truly means. We could be wrong, but thats the impression we both get and it’s refreshing. Genuineness is hard to come by these days, especially in the media.
Heck, if you know me at all, you know I talk a lot and am preaching to the choir here. I do this thing where I repeat myself just in case you didn’t get my point, usually without realising it. I don’t stop talking until I feel that you have given me the right amount of affirming sounds (‘yeah’, ‘uh huh’, ‘mmm’) because I’m worried you may just not understand. I want things to be communicated the way I’m thinking it in my head, juuust so we’re on the same page. I’m doing it now, aren’t I? Oh my gaawwwd, somebody save me from myself.
It’s a little bit like the boy who cried wolf. After telling everyone and their mother, ‘I miss you… and you.. oh, especially YOU!’, those words took on a whole new meaning when I really, deeply missed someone. Don’t get me wrong, I did miss these people to a degree. Anyone who’s been away from their home for a long time will know how it is – we are constantly missing someone. But then came the day when those words would not justify the pain I felt from missing someone. Let’s be intentional with our words and give them power.
My new goal is talk less and have more impact with what I do say. I want to touch people’s hearts with just a few, genuine words, instead of talking and talking and talking away the value of my words.
How about you? Can you relate – do you struggle with talking too much, or is it the other way around? Leave a comment.
the underground micaela 