Chapter 202
The Weight of Unspoken Words
For a long time that night Princess Mary sat by the open window of her room hearing the sound of the peasants’ voices that reached her from the village, but it was not of them she was thinking. She felt that she could not understand them however much she might think about them. She thought only of one thing, her sorrow, which, after the break caused by cares for the present, seemed already to belong to the past. Now she could remember it and weep or pray. After sunset the wind had dropped. The night was calm and fresh. Toward…
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Critical Thinking Exercise
Create Your Difficult Conversation List
Make a list of three important conversations you've been postponing in your own life. For each one, write down what you're afraid will happen if you have the conversation, and what might happen if you don't. Then rank them by urgency - who is oldest, sickest, or most likely to be unavailable soon?
Consider:
- •Consider both personal and professional relationships that need attention
- •Think about conversations you're avoiding because they feel uncomfortable, not because they're actually dangerous
- •Remember that imperfect timing with honest words beats perfect timing that never comes
Journaling Prompt
Write about a conversation you wish you'd had with someone who is no longer available to you. What would you say now if you could? How can this inform the conversations you still have time to have?
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