If those walls could talk...
In April 2014, Roger Turner wrote his poem, If these walls could talk, which reflects on Man’s musings about the human condition, and some of the ‘what ifs‘ in life.
The first stanza goes like this: Everywhere there’s secrets Some are dark, some light Everywhere there’s secrets Some best kept out of sight Everywhere there’s secrets
Of the living and the dead Everywhere there’s secrets Some are better left unsaid.
The rest of the poem asks questions about the fear of hearing about the things those walls have seen and heard: crying, death in the family, secrets and lies, games and fights, verbal injuries and “sounds of laughter and of moans”.
Most of us would shudder at the possibility of the walls of our lives being able to tell our stories. The expression: “Let’s keep it within these four walls”, sits very comfortably with most.
Renata Suzuki reflects, with a combination of nostalgia and reassurance, that all of our secrets - “good, bad, shallow or deep” - are all that the walls have to keep.
But can discussions in meetings ever be guaranteed to be confidential during these times?
‘Bugs’, mobile phones and other technology enables those who want to listen in, or record, to do so. Walls can indeed ‘talk’ as well as show.
Has privacy become a thing of the past? Has confidentiality gone ‘out of the window?’
Of course there are many among us who like their walls to talk, but not of events and secrets. Paintings and portraits tell a story.
One motivational message warns that we become like the five people with whom we spend the most time. The message is to choose those significant people carefully.
Two diametrically opposed views on our attitudes to our fellow men illustrate the extremes that drive Man’s thinking:
Donald Trump advocates always getting even “when people wrong you” for its good feeling, and for the gains to be seen doing it by others.
Jesus’ guidance is to: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you”.
May the reader choose the best fit.