Greetings One and All ....

We live in a rural area and most anyplace we need to go is a drive. I was driving one of my kitties to the vet the other day which takes about 45 minutes. It is a lovely drive past miles and miles of emerald green water and snow white sandy beaches and not a traffic light in site... until the road turns inland through an Air Force base.

The first traffic light I came to is at the main gate of the base and as luck would have it .. it turned yellow as I approached. As I came to a stop, I couldn't help but notice the vehicle next to me quaking in time to the loud thumping of the bass speakers.

What really caught my attention, though, wasn't the sound, it was the gyrating driver moving and grooving in the front seat, fingers tapping on the steering wheel and singing out loud. I guess I was staring at this young woman in amazement because she turned and looked straight at me, smiled and started to laugh as she pulled away. I'm sure she was thinking .. “What kind of weirdo is THAT ?? ”

I thought about this young woman later on in the day, about her freedom, and her ability to immerse herself in her own private world within her vehicle, surrounded by thumping speakers and an upbeat melody. She clearly had found her own voice and was using it - both literally and figuratively.

A provocative thought here .. finding one's voice! This concept takes the form of more than just being free enough to sing loudly along with a song on the radio at a traffic light. It encompasses being able to speak for oneself, being able to communicate thoughts and ideas in a way that can be understood, whether on paper or in person – effectively getting a point across.

From the metaphysical standpoint, find our voice equates to speaking our message. Everyone has a message to give - a lesson to teach – yes, even the singing gal in the vehicle at the traffic light.

Watching her for a moment made me wonder ... Had I somehow lost touch with that freedom? Was it that I found the challenge of using my own voice in the midst of so many others too much to bear? I began to realize some important things about our 'voice', what it meant to find it, use it and the beauty of the harmony of our own voices along with others. The act of discovering our own voice is produced from the efforts of understanding and knowing ourselves. I was on to something now!

Expressing ourselves and working our passion .. surely that has its roots in finding our voice, as well. Using our creative intuition to birth an idea and coax it to grow to fruition .. ahhh .. this was getting better!

Our voice connects us to others. It produces emotions, pictures and awareness of who we are. We find our voice by recognizing our strengths as well as our weaknesses and allowing both to resonate back into the communities in which we live – here online and out in the physical world. By using our voice, we give back to the community and serve others for the higher purpose. Our voice ... is our style.

The act of finding our voice is an act of courage. For many of us, it takes a certain amount of stamina encouraged by tiny victories along the way to recognizing our own means of expression. We call this 'empowerment' .. the ability to stand in our own power.

Some folks find their voice in writing, for others it may be found in the arts, theater or film, and yet others may find it within the security of a 9 to 5 job. All are important channels that mark us as viable human beings, ready, willing and able to use our voice to pass along our personal message .. “I'm here, World. I have a voice that wants to be heard and something important to contribute!”

Yep.

~~~

Be blessed ...