Not all of us are born writers, or singers, or actors. Not everyone can write a best seller, paint a Sistine Chapel or carve a David. But each and every one of us has a voice within us and a story to tell. We might tell it in the way we parent, or do our jobs, or help a neighbor, or volunteer our time. We might tell it in the charities we support, or the stand we take on issues, or even in the products we buy and the people in our lives that we support. All of us have a way of getting our message across, a way of letting the world hear us. And what we need to say to the world is our Truth, with a capital T. Louise Hay, in her groundbreaking book You Can Heal Your Life, defines laryngitis as "fear of speaking up." When we do not speak our truth, we live in the lies of others, or we lose our voice all together.
Not content to just take my voice away, Life also decided to teach me a lesson about truth yesterday. I had to brave the cold and snow to venture out to the store to pick up a few items, not the least of which was to restock the medicine cabinet to continue my assault on this bug. We went to the local Wal-Mart because they were also having a sale on cat food ... an item I dare not run out of lest I become the focus of some intense howling from my two house mates. who have absolutely not lost their voices, nor do they have a problem expressing their truths. Now, I live in upstate New York and we have been having quite the winter this year. The snow is piled so high in spots that it takes up half of the parking lots, and the cold, grey days seem endless. As we made our way back to the car we heard people honking at each other, yelling at each other, cursing at each other. These were definitely not happy campers. I croaked out to my daughter that people were really suffering from this prolonged confinement due to the weather and needed to get over their cabin fever like I needed to get over my bug. She reminded me that back during the Christmas shopping season, I had made a similar remark about how rude and inpatient people were instead of being filled with holiday cheer. It reminded me that whatever your truth is, a change in season or weather is not going to change who you are inside. You can't get orange juice out of an apple, and you can't get kind, considerate people out of people who do not have those qualities in their repertoire.
Speaking your truth means living your life based on what you believe to be true for you regardless of your circumstances, the weather, or the season. It doesn't have to be true for the others in your life, but it has to be true for you. Sometimes that's a pretty tall order to fill. It takes courage to speak your truth when those around you think you're wrong, or a little strange, or into that "woo-woo stuff."
When you combine the two things together - finding your voice and speaking your truth - than all of the other seeds you have planted in your inner garden have a foundation to grow on, a path to follow as they rise up to meet the sun. Together, they become your authentic life, filled with the beauty of nature, truth and love.
And so it is.
