The Talking Inside

Hemingway wrote that one of the rarest things in the world is an intelligent person who was also happy.

I was talking with a student and the student took a long time to answer a question. It was not an easy question, so I waited very patiently.

I waited amd I watched hs face for evidence of his thoughts. It was clear from his face that my question had churned up a part of himself that he was either not familiar with or not as familiar with as he thought he should be.

After a moment he nodded to himself and looked at me. He didn't answer, so I asked, "What were you thinking?"

He said, "The talking inside is nothing."