GRATITUDE MONTH--DAY #8: MY VOICE

I am grateful for my voice. Ten days I ago I woke up with painful sinuses. Twelve hours later it was already sinking down to my vocal chords. By the next day I had full blown laryngitis, only capable of talking in a bass voice or none at all. This is not a new thing for me. In my 20's, I would get sick often and every time I got a cold, I would also get laryngitis. So I know what to do. Be patient. Be quiet. Drink lots of fluids and be very patient. The only way to heal is to rest the voice.

Meantime, I had two beloved friends from choir over the last decade, have to leave choir because they could no longer sing, for various physical reasons. So I am aware that such a precious gift as a voice can be lost, without warning. So this morning, when I woke up and grabbed my guitar and could sing a couple notes, I was thrilled. It's been character building to be quite and be patient but I'd rather have my voice.

With my voice, I get to sing, I get to talk with my girlfriends for hours, I could coo at my grandchildren when they were born and giggle with my husband over our silliness. With my voice I can show people I care and it helps me express what's happening inside me.And did I mention singing?! Being able to sing, especially with others, is one of the greatest joys of my life! That's another whole blog entry.

I'm never going to be an opera singer or superstar, but I am grateful to know I have a voice, not someone else's voice but my voice. And I'm grateful that my body knows how to heal itself after a cold so I can get that voice back. Because I love to sing! and I love to talk with people! and I love to laugh and giggle!

Today, I'm grateful for my voice!

Let's Keep Singing

My deepest desire is to sing in harmony with all that is within me and around me. I want the notes that are my life to create a harmonious vibration with yours. This desire is sometimes hard to live with; sometimes I lose my voice, sometimes I get off the beat and lose my place; sometimes I lose your voice; sometimes all I can hear is the cacophonous noise of my own doubting and fearing heart. In those dissonant moments I cringe, my chest gets tight and it is tempting to just stop singing, to stop trying to live in harmony. But if we can just hang in there a little bit longer, the dissonance resolves itself and we find ourselves singing harmony once again. And what a sweet song that is when we get there. Whether today is a dissonant day or a harmonious day, let’s keep singing. I can’t carry this tune without you.

in gratitude for your voice,

 jules

THE VOICE THAT CALLS US HOME

We walk in a vast inner wilderness
Far from any oasis of ordinary life
Wandering seemingly alone
Searching for the path
The connection to the life
Which chooses us
But the wind, the warmth of the sun
The sand giving way beneath our weight
Reminds us that there are other forces
Besides our own
And the whisper of the love in our hearts
Tells that there are other souls out there
Searching for us and with us.
We cannot help but steer towards that voice
The song which calls us toward home
To the people and places
Where we can at last take rest
And find peace.

7/26/07
© 2007 Julie A. Bonde