Finding Your Voice was one of many themes we explored in our conversation
circles this year. In these conversation circles, we discussed our physical
voice, the outer voice we use for speaking, singing, and perhaps chanting; our
inner voice, the internal monologue in our head that provides the words and
images that reflect our thoughts and imaginings; and our figurative voice, our
authentic voice, what we believe and what we truly stand for, the voice that is
manifesting in our speaking and writing.
Thinking about the singing voice brings to mind my mother. As a teenager,
long before I was born, she sang in the church choir. At home, while I was
growing up, she was always singing. Singing while cooking or doing the dishes,
or at anytime while working around the house or in the garden. She had a
beautiful voice. I wonder now why we never recorded her singing. A missed
opportunity!
As we come to the end of the year, many of us take time to reflect,
celebrating our accomplishments, noting what went well and maybe what didn’t go
as planned, thinking about what we learned, remembering the people who came
into our lives and those who departed. Then, looking forward to the new year,
thinking about our aspirations and setting intentions.
As readers of my blog posts may know, I select and share my word of the
year. A word that represents my area of focus, a touchstone for my thinking,
writing, and speaking in the year ahead. Emergence, surrender, and hope were
the words of recent years. I am now in the process of selecting my word for the
upcoming year, a word that may guide the finding of my voice, and inspire
responsible action. I am reflecting on the following questions and invite us
all to do the same: What do we stand for? Who will we be and how will we show
up in the world? How will we find and use our individual voice and our
collective voices in the coming year? I wish you success with finding your
voice.
Originally published on the Dr. Paul Ward Blog.
