Finding Your Voice

 

“In life, finding a voice is speaking and living the truth. Each of you is an original. Each of you has a distinctive voice. When you find it, your story will be told. You will be heard.”

—John Grisham

I love Goodreads daily quotes because every time I find something that speaks to me directly, saying things I so need to hear right now. The quote about finding your voice, obvious as it might seem at first glance, led to the light bulb moment. Yes, I've been searching for my true identity, shedding off layers I've acquired in the years when I did nothing but tried to fit in. Even if at the cost of losing myself. And lately I've been struggling to regain everything I've so recklessly given away. It hasn't been easy - mostly it's two steps forward, one step back. My inclination to speak up my mind occasionally gets pushed back by the old habit to please and say what others want to hear. I vowed not to participate in gossips but can't help my curiosity, when someone suggests "Guess what..." But at least I started moving in the right direction, even if taking baby steps.

Finding my voice is similar to that process but it's also different. When you speak in your own voice, the sound vibrates with positive energy and you feel it flow through your whole body. Your voice has the power to always find the right things to say by expertly digging them out from the complex, entangled maze of your thoughts. But the voice knows, the kind of knowing that leaves no room for doubt, the absolute knowledge of "that is so".

It can be tempting to suppress your true voice because what it says isn't always to everyone's liking. And it calls out to suppressed true voices of those around you. Some of them will respond with gratitude, others will hide their voice even deeper, unwilling to mess with something as powerful as that, a threat to their comfort. But I want to have the courage to stick with my true voice, because what it brings to the world is compassion, wisdom, light and peace. I want to speak with the voice that soothes, heals and shows the way.