Nothing To Say

With more and more frequency, I find myself without anything to say. When someone offers opinions in conversation, I often remain quiet. They ask if I have anything to say, to which I reply no. What would I say? I can’t imagine anything worth saying.

No one wants to hear me tell them that opinions are worthless. If they did, they would ask. You see, they never ask if I agree. They always ask if I have something to say, so I say nothing. Because I have nothing to say.

I don’t have opinions running rampant throughout my mind. I don’t have any soapbox speeches to give, or any dogma to promote. I don’t have anything I feel the need to get off my chest. I’m perfectly content to remain silent, and I often do.

“What are your thoughts on this?”

“I have no thoughts on this.”

What else could I say? That’s the truth. If I don’t think anything, I don’t think anything. But people are used to being bombarded with opinions after asking a question like that, so they frequently interpret my silence as an unwillingness to be open or honest. It just isn’t so.

If someone asks, “Is this true?” we have something to talk about. If someone asks, “Is this worthwhile?” we have something to talk about. If someone asks, “What about this?”

Well, what about it?