Amongst the many magazines I get for my office waiting room, one is a popular publication that people enjoy reading. It’s known for its cartoons and excellent articles. When I got back from a recent vacation, there were piles of magazines, so I flipped through this particular one, to get a look at the cartoons. Uncharacteristically, I discovered one that was extremely offensive to me, so I tore it out of the magazine in order to prevent people visiting my office from being similarly offended or hurt. For the first time in quite a while, I sat down and wrote a letter, sharing my displeasure and sorrow that they would allow such a cartoon to be included in the magazine.

On a completely opposite side of things, I was walking home through Central Park one evening and noticed three people in front of me. A woman walked between two men. What enchanted me was that they were all holding hands. Given that they were strolling along and I was in my New York fast walking mode, I caught up to them fairly quickly. As I did, I slowed my pace and commented to them that it had made me smile to see them walking hand in hand and I wanted to thank them for that. Their response was to invite me to take the hand of one of the men and walk with them for awhile. I did, and it was a delightful interlude on the way home.

All this got me to thinking about how and when we use our voices – when do we speak up, when do we stay silent, and what is the impact of these kinds of choices? How often do we see or experience things that offend or alarm us, and yet we let them slide by because we’re too busy to take the time to make our feelings known? Conversely, how often do we see things that move, delight, or touch us in some positive way and we also choose to stay silent rather than share our responses with those involved?

And so, this week’s experiment is rather straightforward. I invite you to notice – as you go through your day – when and where you might see or experience things that generate a response in you that may need to be expressed. On the one hand, your response may bring important information or consciousness raising to someone. On the other hand, your response may add to a person’s sense of delight or well-being.

As you play with this experiment, notice those times when you say something and those times when you don’t. Pay particular attention to how you feel when you do and don’t share your voice with others verbally or in writing. Remember to be curious and generous with yourself. The point isn’t to catch yourself doing anything wrong. Rather, this is an opportunity to notice how you choose to use your voice or not as you move through your daily activities and how that impacts the quality of your experience.