Be careful what you wish for

For the longest time, the hunters and elders up north would tell me to be careful with what I say. The polar bears are listening. The animals can hear you. 

It wasn't until I came across this (taken from Bill Plotkin's Soulcraft) that it made sense to me:

In the very earliest time,
when both people and animals lived on earth,
a person could become an animal if he wanted to
and an animal could become a human being.
Sometimes they were people
and sometimes animals
and there was no difference.
All spoke the same language.
That was the time when words were like magic.
The human mind had mysterious powers.
A word spoken by chance
might have strange consequences.
It would suddenly come alive
and what people wanted to happen could happen--
all you had to do was say it.
Nobody can explain this:
That's the way it was.

​- Nalungiaq

Is what you say necessary? Can you sit in the silence and be alone with your thoughts?