"Monday 5 Things" with D. Paul Graham
Monday 5 Things…..Unspoken…..
All week I had this nagging voice in my head asking, ‘Why didn’t you just say it? Why didn’t you just ask her?’ Things I wish I had said to my mom while she was still here before she passed away over two-and-a-half years ago. My mom, who’s mind was taken by Alzheimer’s two years before that. It has only been since my mother’s passing that I am learning to say things I wouldn’t have before; to question when I would have stayed silent; to probe when I want to truly understand; and really grapple with myself to understand what it means to be healthy, real and honest in relationships. My mom gave so much to me while she was alive, and I realized that the unspoken things I wish I had said to her have served as a catalyst for my continued growth… yet another gift from my mom. Today’s M5T reflects on things unsaid, through quotes of others far more eloquent than I. Words that I will simply leave with you to ponder on this day, and this week.
1. Don Zantamata
“Sometimes words are better left unsaid. Other times, those unspoken words could have made all the difference.”
2. Philippa Gregory
"Words have weight, something once said cannot be unsaid. Meaning is like a stone dropped into a pool; the ripples will spread, and you cannot know what back they wash against."
3. Harriet Beecher Stowe
“The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.”
4. Fyodor Dostoevsky
“Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.”
5. Piglet
“‘Pooh!’ He whispered. ‘Yes, Piglet?’ ‘Nothing’, said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. ‘I just wanted to be sure of you.’”
Here’s to a week of taking chances to say things you usually wouldn’t, to knowing when not to say things that will be destructive, and to having the wisdom to know the difference between the two. And, thank you, mom.
© 2019 D. Paul Graham, all rights reserved.
D. Paul Graham is passionate about people, culture, photography and business. He has embraced his wanderlust with his travels around the globe and is at peace with his need for spirited drives in all things automotive.
You can find M5T each Monday here on www.southmag.com and by friending D. Paul Graham on Facebook. Paul is also a contributing photographer to South Magazine. His photographic work can be found on Instagram @dpgraham and at www.imageGRAHAM.com. Your feedback is always welcome. Email Paul at dpg@imagegraham.com
