Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.
—André Gide
When you’ve read long enough, you realize:
Everything that needs to be said has already been said.
And perfectly, at that.
The scriptures proclaimed it.
The poets sang it.
The philosophers reasoned it.
The sculptors carved it.
The same few truths—made real by many different hands.
But that was never the point.
The point is to speak them yourself—
with your own lips,
in your own time,
through your own life.
Because truth doesn’t live on the page.
It lives in the speaking.
In the wrestling.
In the failing and the finding your way back.
It dies in repetition without revelation,
in articulation without authenticity.
Anyone can carry a tune.
Only you can give it meaning.
So say it again.
Say it like you mean it.
Say it until it’s yours.
Per my about page, White Noise is a work of experimentation. I view it as a sort of thinking aloud, a stress testing of my nascent ideas. Through it, I hope to sharpen my opinions against the whetstone of other people’s feedback, commentary, and input.
If you want to discuss any of the ideas or musings mentioned above or have any books, papers, or links that you think would be interesting to share on a future edition of White Noise, please reach out to me by replying to this email or following me on Twitter X.
With sincere gratitude,
Tom
amen brother