You know those awkward moments? Those moments when there is a big secret in the room. An elephant in the room. Everyone is patiently tip-toeing around it. Now, you can see it. So can everyone else. But no one wants to call a spade a spade. Everyone is pretending it is a clover. I mean, does it even exist?
There is this tension to everyone. In the way they walk, talk, eat, say hello. In the way their shoulders look heavy bearing the weight of the secret. Everyone is trying to keep something together. Keep up with illusions. With facades and games.
But you, you know that there is something worth saying. Maybe you’ve always been that person who can see things, beyond the obvious, and call it out. You don’t mean to be mean. But a spade is a spade.
You might be nervous to say anything at all. Maybe hiding it is the decent thing to do. Everyone is in agreement, right? What if you make a mess of things? What if everyone blames you?
You could speak up. You could keep quiet. But there is something tingling inside you to do something — regardless of the outcome.
So you do. You point to the elephant in the room. You name the color. You name the size. You name the texture of it. You name the emotion of it. You say hello to the spade, “Hi, spade”!
Suddenly, things begin to change. You feel different. More at ease. With yourself. With others. With the spade. A shift happens when you says hello to things as they are.
With others, their moods have changed. Maybe they are a bit uncomfortable. Maybe, in the right way. People may feel more curious, open to the spade, or reflecting on their own lives.
One thing is true. You aren’t the same. Nor is anyone else. Call the spade a spade.