“I cannot believe I lived so long without understanding the impossible profundity of the act of speech. I literally had no idea what it was to be able to intentionally and gracefully shape intelligible sound whose music could directly convey the impression of my soul’s moment. I actually took it for granted. I did what I saw others doing, thinking they probably knew what was going on. Especially adults. I was like a flying stone in a glass nursery. I used my voice to pierce, to crush, to dominate. I directed its force at whim and without concern. My careless and ceaseless ignorance had prices I will never be able to account.

I don’t know precisely what woke me up. But now I can actively sense the voice. It is the soul’s hand in the world. Its powers are extraordinary, and extend beyond anything I had imagined. But only when guided by the spirits of of virtues such as wisdom and insight, compassion and sobriety… amongst others. The voice is an invisible hand that can touch not only ears but souls. How different then, the result of a caress, than the blows we are so used to hearing and exchanging. How different then a sound that calls one to wonder, to confidence, to memory and learning… from the sound the pushes, slaps, impedes, demands, or demeans.

Now, at last, I am beginning to understand the invisible hand inside our speaking, and all the amazing things it can do and become when we remember, together.”

— an anonymous informant