Dare to 'have a voice'

Broadly speaking, there are two aspects to having a voice. The first is an everyday voice. It may consist of your opinion on who should be the Man of the Year on a magazine cover, to the ideal thickness of a pizza crust :-)! In other words, it is all about our preferences and the choices we make, one over another - and when we expound on these choices, that then, becomes our voice. Mary Pipher, in her book 'Writing to Change the World', draws a list of questions to answer, to help find your voice. Amongst them are:

What makes you laugh, cry, and open your heart?
What points do you repeatedly make to those you love?
What topics keep you up at night, or help you fall asleep?
What do you know to be true?
What is beautiful to you?
What excites your curiosity?
And my favorite - What do you want to accomplish before you die?

Being able to answer these, would certainly be a great start to help us discover more about ourselves, however, the second aspect of a 'voice' is more profound. And to illustrate my point about the 'authentic voice' I'm going to suggest that after you've thought and written down the answers to the above questions, write 'WHY' after your answers, and one more time go back, to ponder over why you chose your answers.

E.g. what makes you laugh? Why?
What makes you cry? Why?
What makes you open your heart? Why?
What points do you repeatedly make to those you love? Why? etc.

Although this list is by no means exhaustive, it's a good start to get to know yourself more intimately. Hopefully, you'll have some clarity about being the person you are, and getting closer in touch with yourself. Are the choices you make convenient facades to maintain a status quo? - in order not to rock the boat? Or do your choices reflect decisions made from a clear and grounded space, that feels just right?

The question to ask yourself is how do the two situations FEEL in your body? HOW do you feel when your voice is 'fake', and how when your voice is 'authentic'? Really slow down and allow yourself the first experience. After a while, allow the second. Which feels better? Which feels like a trap? Where lies a sense of lightness, and freedom?

More tomorrow on 'authenticity' ...

Kiki ;-)