i remember i talked to a woman who was a therapist once who told me it’s usually the parent that people don’t talk about that is the problem. i always found that interesting, that she would sit in a session with people talking about how their parent did this, or they tormented them with that, but she’s quietly watching them, waiting for the right moment to unravel the real pain that is hidden with the figure in the shadows.
i can see that. we keep the most personal things closest to ourselves. most people will have no problem bitching about the weather, the traffic, their job. but when it comes to the pain that is closest to them, the stream suddenly dries up. they’re just words hanging in the air with no voice. some people even keep their happiest joys silent. maybe because of a fear that these joys can turn into great pain if they were somehow diminished or taken away from them once they’ve been spoken.
you can always hear a hint of what’s hidden in the shadow of a person’s words, in the shadow of their expressions. sometimes, what’s hidden is nothing. sometimes…it’s everything.