Thanks to my sore throat, I haven’t been saying very much.

It’s not like I’m one of those people who just love the sound of their own voice (it does sound really sexy today) and simply cannot stop talking - I’m perfectly happy sitting quietly and listening and observing others in a social situation. But when an interesting intellectual conversation occurs, things may be a little more tricky.

So I had a tough day today, when some colleagues were discussing death, religion, and beliefs (one of my favourite topics), and of course I had much to contribute to the discussion.

But there I was, eerily silent.

My colleague must have been uncomfortable with my uncharacteristic silence.

“So do you belief in rebirth?” she asked.

I gave her my I-think-it’s-implausible-but-I’m-open-and-I-really-have-more-to-say-but-I-can’t shrug. I wonder if she decoded it correctly.

Soon they were discussing the methods of a certain religion, which they felt were insensitve. They were soon reinforcing one another in their one-sided viewpoint, and I had to step in. To minimise my pain and maximise the impact, I had to make my statement pithy and concise, and very profound.

“It makes sense in their worldview,” I whispered in my husky, sexy voice. Sexy and profound.

Unfortunately, they didn’t hear me.

But it was good - good for me. Sitting there with an enigmatic I-know-something-you-don’t Mona Lisa smile and listening and letting the discussion run without my influence - it was good.

Now, if only more people would shut up and listen.