what if

so often in life we are afraid of what others will think. whatever we do, we have that nagging voice in the back of our minds telling us to hold back, to play small, to conform with the opinion of the crowd. for fear of being thrown strange looks, we avoid standing out at any cost. and so, we blend in with the prevailing social norms, independent of whether they are in line with our personal values. what if, next time, we listened to the other voice, the almost inaudible, quiet one. the one that ripples like a clear stream on a spring morning. the one that chimes like little bells in a breeze on a mellow summer's evening. the one that whispers like colourful leaves falling to the forest ground in autumn. the one that sings like the crisp cold of a winter's night under a canopy of stars. what if?