Why do I speak without having anything to say?
If you were granted the opportunity to send and broadcast your thoughts into the minds of all human beings on Earth for one minute, what would you say?
It was during one of my walks that I was suddenly plagued by this thought experiment. After letting it sink in for a while, my mind went blank for a moment and then swiftly produced an answer I couldn't dispute: I wouldn't say anything at all.
As soon as this answer came to me, I knew it to be true. There is no teaching or message or insightful story that could ever be a greater gift than silence.
So why then, do I speak? Why do I share my thoughts and insights? Am I motivated by fame, status or attention? Am I chasing the feeling of significance? Do I want to impress strangers on the internet that badly?
If I truly recognise that there is nothing to say or write about that is more profound than silence, I can no longer fool myself into thinking that I have the noble motivation of sharing my interests and insights for the good and benefit of humanity.
I could go on about how sharing one's thoughts is a great way to increase clarity, how it can invite feedback which could lead to new perspectives and understanding.
But that would only be a partial truth and mostly a rationalization.
The real reason why I share is simply because I can't help it! Throughout my life I have had the luck to be deeply touched by some of the people, writings and lectures I've encountered, touched to such a degree that part of me wishes that everyone could experience something like it.
Perhaps it is my desire to do the same for others that, to some extent, explains why I share, although it seems that our deepest motivations might forever remain a mystery to ourselves.