I wept. I wept because I said it out loud.

I don’t remember who I said it to, perhaps only to myself. I don’t remember. I do remember saying it out loud. I remember the reaction.

“He died too soon,” I said. I was talking about my dad who died at the age of 69 when I was barely 26, and that was a long time ago. I have said before that dad died. I wrote an editorial for a newspaper a few weeks after his passing and the opening line stated, “My dad died.” To the best of my recollection, this recent occurrence was the first time I said out loud that dad died too soon; too soon for him at only 69 and too soon for me as a son who cherished, appreciated and respected his dad. He was not perfect, but he earned his epitaph – “He left for us a most noble pattern.”

There is value in saying things out loud, bringing them from your mind, heart and imagination to a person or a group. Unleashing the thought affirms it, confirms your conviction to it and reveals it to yourself in clarifying, sometimes emotional, ways.

Perhaps the power of spoken statements is in the mutual vulnerability of the speaker and the receiver of the message. The directness of “He died too young,” or “I love you,” or “I am scared,” “I’m sorry,” “I miss someone,” or “I hurt…,” or… can open one’s own heart as well as others’.

I don’t know whether it was in my saying those four words or the tears that followed, but peace, tranquility and understanding has ensued. Some things are too important to keep bottled up for too long. Sharing with respect, humility and vulnerability can increase understanding, improve connections and open hearts. I know…because…I finally said it out loud.