Sharing your voice

To me, sharing your voice is about allowing others to see the wisdom, understanding, stories, questions, and the beauty of who you are.  A less-filtered you  than you might be used to showing at work, in public, or among family and friends. This takes some courage and an intention to live with freedom in who you are, believing that you DO have something great to offer in the world.     

Voice can be shared in many ways, such as: Answering honestly when you're asked 'how are you'; sharing an opinion that is different than the group of people you're in conversation with; wearing colours that you feel good in, regardless of what the 'best' shades are for you; writing a note to tell someone you miss them; speaking up about an unfair policy in your workplace. Voice is about expressing your song in the world, your unique sense of what life is, in all its mystery, amazingness and sorrow. 

I invite your voice to be bold in its coming forth.   

This beautiful poem by Sally Atkins speaks to me of how extending your voice can be quiet and yet powerful in its subtle existence.  I hope this encourages you to honour the stories alive in you, the voice that is you, your beauty.

The Imperative of Song

You who have only heard

The sound of tension

From your throat,

Know that the ancient ones

Mapped their land by song.

To sing is to get somewhere;

Know that song

is your incarnation,

Whether an aria

A prayer

Or a single word.

To speak from the inside out

Is to witness

To your own humanity.

Listen,

The heartbeat

Of an ancient beast

Moves through you.

You can only listen

And love it,

And weep,

The sound

Of your own voice

Singing.    -Sally Atkins

Bathed in Beauty

Bathed in beauty.

That's how I felt one afternoon this week, singing in a garden under a sycamore tree with a kindred soul beside me.

Fun songs that made us laugh, our own created song about summer, a reflective tune that I like called Silver Moon.  It was simply what I needed: To allow my brain a few moments to connect with laughter, sound, my own voice alongside another's tone.

There is something very powerful about singing together. It breaks into the 'fun' side of the mind, freeing us from the routines of life, from worry; from the list that was previously bogging down my mind.  Singing together encourages fluidity, and being fully present in the moment.

There are studies on the positive effects the brain receives while creating music in a group. Certain areas of our emotional access points are engaged, relaxing the mind in a way that's similar to meditation.

The synergy of breaking into song is so joyful for me.  A nearby man in the gardens thanked us for inspiring him with our music, and spoke of the joy he sensed in us.

A crow landed near us a few times, as though he too felt the magic of our voices, this shared moment of savoring life.

Synergy.  Freedom.  Surprise.