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29 September 2026

There are things we become better at keeping quiet about as the years pass.

Not because they don’t matter.

Perhaps because they matter too much.

When we are younger, we often want to say everything. We want to correct the misunderstanding, answer the accusation, explain the decision and make sure our side of the story is known.

Age changes that.

We begin to realise that every argument does not need an answer.

Some people will understand us without being convinced. Some never will, no matter how carefully we explain ourselves.

So we learn to leave a few things unsaid.

We learn that a private disappointment can remain private. That not every kindness needs an audience. That sometimes walking away is more peaceful than having the last word.

It is not always easy.

There are still moments when we want to say, “But you should know what really happened.”

Then we stop.

Perhaps that is one of the quieter forms of growing older.

Not winning every argument.

Not correcting every opinion.

Simply knowing what is worth carrying—and what is better left where it happened.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah, Guwahati, Assam, India, Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah, YouTube: conversewithasmile, email rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com