Speak Your Mind!

A fictional short exploring the importance of communication.

Not very long ago, in a small town called σιωπή*, there lived two men. They were known as περήφανος and συνεσταλμένος, but I will refer to them as Phillip and Thomas. The town was utterly quiet and each man was governed only by his own thoughts. Phillip was an unhappy man who was successfully retired, but always assumed everyone had it better than he did. Despite this feeling, however, he never would ask for help with anything, but would sit silently and fill his mind with complaints and self pity. Thomas was a contented man who owned a landscaping service. He was a hard worker and a skilled one, as well. In a short amount of time he could grow and maintain the greenest grass or make a tree yield the ripest fruit. He was always glad to give back to his community in any way he could, but was too afraid to advertise his company to anyone who did not ask.

One hot summer's day, Phillip decided to go for a walk. He could see all the people driving to work in their cars that were nicer than his. He could see mansions rising above the small houses in grand splendor, but Phillip did not appreciate their beauty. He envied it. As he concluded his walk on his own street, he could see the thing that bugged him the most. The greenest grass grew in every yard except his own. Every tree that he could see held the ripest fruit except his own. Phillip tried his best to care for his yard himself, but his feeble body often did not allow such tasks. He knew who the landscaper was, but his pride kept him from knocking on his neighbor's door. Instead, as he did every day, Phillip sat down on his old wooden porch chair and waited for Thomas's offer. 

On this same hot summer's day, Thomas was hard at work. He was in top form that day. The grass had never looked so green and the fruits had never been so ripe. He did his job quickly and while his clients were away at work, lest he receive extensive praise or thanks. As he returned to his own home, he passed the one yard that he had never been asked to work on. His neighbor sat on his porch in an old wooden chair overlooking his unkempt yard. Thomas would have been happy to work on another yard, but his timidness kept him from offering. Instead, as he did every day, he ducked past the home into his own, where he sat down for a meal and waited for Phillip to knock on his door.

-The End-

In the modern world, communication is easy. Sharing one's own thoughts can be done in person or using social media.It can be done publicly or anonymously. It is easy to write one's thoughts down and share them with whoever will read them, even as I am doing right now. It has not always been that way.

My great-uncle likes to tell the story of my great-great-grandfather and one of his sons. They owned a weekly newspaper in Minnesota, with printing presses belt-driven by a single steam engine and hard copies delivered every week. Even though the story above is fictional, it is not that far-fetched. And even though I do not have to publish my thoughts in a factory, I think it is important and enjoyable to write and to speak out one's thoughts openly and honestly for anyone to read or hear, lest the world fall silent. "πάντοτε ζητεῖν τὴν ἀλήθειαν"-Diogenes Laërtius ("Ever seeking truth")

*Click links for translations