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25 September 2026
There comes a point in life when we become less interested in explaining ourselves.
Not because we have nothing to say, but because we begin to understand that not everyone needs to understand us.
When we are younger, we often explain our choices. Why we left. Why we stayed. Why we changed our minds. Why we could not be there. We want people to know that our decisions had reasons behind them.
With time, something changes.
We learn that a person who knows us well may understand without an explanation, while someone determined to misunderstand us may not be convinced by a hundred explanations.
So we become quieter.
We choose our company a little more carefully. We stop answering every question. We stop defending every silence.
It is not indifference.
It is simply the comfort of knowing who we are.
Perhaps growing older is partly about discovering that peace does not always come from being understood by everyone.
Sometimes it comes from no longer needing to be.
Rajat Chandra Sarmah, Guwahati, Assam, India, Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5, YouTube: conversewithasmile, email rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com
