I like to play hide and seek
With myself
As I gaze into the mirror
My dreams seem more real to me
Than the life I live
In dreams I can be me
Not pretend
To be perfect
No judgments
I close my eyes and open them again
And create a whole new world
Sophia loves this quote by the scholar and poet Rumi.
“Maybe you are searching among the branches for what only appears in the roots”… Rumi
Communication is the cornerstone to autonomy and participation in life. It is a human right. It is the humane thing to listen and allow all to have a voice. I suppose the word choice of voice is more metaphorical for us nonspeakers but that doesn’t make our words any less valuable.
As a society, there is so much value placed on speech. It is used as proof of intelligence. It is a priority for many in this fast paced world. Rushing through stories with phrases like “long story short”, while the listener is too busy thinking of their response to truly listen to the speaker.
Spelling to communicate may be a long and arduous process but it forces those around us to slow down to hear our words. It allows us to be extremely intentional in our word choice and message. It allows us to communicate effectively without a need to just fill the silence with unnecessary noise.
This is not to say that speech lacks value but it is overrated. It isn’t a requirement for communication or intelligence. Our words hold value even if they are spelled out one letter at a time. Hear us and value us even without the use of our mouths.
