Opinions, everyone has at least two. Right? Am I coining that old phrase correctly?

No matter.

People have had opinions, as in, forever. Opinions, having them or not having them, is a fundamental ‘feature’ of humanity. We could go so far as to call it a human trait or characteristic. Very. Bold. Statement.

Animals, on the other hand, don’t seem to have opinions. Now some pet owners may argue that point and I might be willing to concede to those who may voice their opinions on this subject.

I would gladly enter a discussion and appreciate the thoughts of pet lovers. I may or may not agree, I may or may not change my views. Whose to say? But in the end, I’m thinking I would benefit from such a discourse. And who knows, a few pet lovers out there, may actually appreciate my opinions.

Moving on…

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase ‘please, keep your opinions to yourself’ once or twice in your life time?

I know, I know – the reality is, you’ve heard it a lot.

“Keep your opinions to yourself, please!”

• Maybe you’ve said it yourself—out loud. Gasp!
• Maybe you’ve just thought it—an awful lot. Double Gasp!!

But here’s the thing—somehow, throughout your years spent on this earth, you’ve acquired a filter, out of necessity. Survival.

Whether you’ve held back a ‘keep your opinion to yourself’ in the quietness of your thoughts, it suffices to say, you’ve thought it, frequently. Let’s be honest here.

Did you hold it back out of politeness or fear of having your face punched in? Whatever the reason, you made the choice. Somehow, thankfully, you’ve acquired the skill set to discern the situation, and make the right choice, on the spot. We hope anyway.

Opinions – the upside

Because of ‘opinions’ you’ve…

1. Learned a lot about yourself and how you ‘fit in’
2. Learned a lot about the people you’ve encountered and how they ‘fit in’

Being able to voice your opinions and listening to others has been helpful on many levels.

If you voiced a strong belief and it was not well-received, you may have considered re-thinking your position or maybe their adverse reaction served you well and solidified your beliefs. Hearing “well, that’s your opinion” more or less confirmed the fact – this person, stubbornly, does not agree with you.

Furthermore, hearing the opinions of others have greatly contributed to your choice of close friends, trusted business associates, and even your soulmate – if you’ve been blessed to find this person.

Imagine what it would mean, if you could never trust your senses, your decisions, about yourself and others, because you, and they, were never permitted to voice opinions?

• What if you, and the people you meet, never expressed thoughts and beliefs?
• What if you could never have an open discussion?

Today, many people are saying they have their ‘freedom of speech’ infringed upon. I’m not debating that point one way or another. I choose to keep my opinion to myself.

What I am putting out there, as something to consider, is the possibility of a greater problem.

If we, as individuals, feel threatened by what might happen if we voice our opinions, will we…

1. Simply shut up and keep our values and beliefs to ourselves?
2. Sadly realize that our opinions do not matter anyway?
3. Change what we say in order to disguise our true thoughts/feelings
4. Ultimately, lose our ability to form lasting trust in our relationships?

Opinions have shaped our lives for centuries. If we are not careful, opinions will no longer provide us the necessary tools to assist in our perception/judgments of the world that surrounds us.

• People will only say what they are expected to say – they will not voice their thoughts and feelings freely.
• We won’t know who we are anymore.

Gasp! We might become like our pets—and have no opinions. Hey, hold on, all you pet-lovers, don’t get angry with me, after all, we haven’t had that particular discussion yet.

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