Once upon a time, there was a girl who had an amazing voice.
She would delight herself and others with her voice. She sang, she hummed, she whistled. She owned her voice, and the voice in turn filled with her wonder. A constant companion, she could use her voice to accomplish anything.
As she grew older however, she would forget that she had a voice. Others told her what her voice ought to sound like. Others were making millions with their voices. Why wasn’t she?
She started to listen to others voices a lot more than her own. She started to think that her voice didn’t sound exactly like that popular person. Or that powerful person there. And to make her own millions, she better learn to sound the “right” way.
So off she went to university to “figure” her voice out. She majored in all the minor things and was left with a whole head of knowledge but even more lost.
Once she finished university, she tried to use her voice to find work. But the voice had become so distorted, so lost under the weight of all her knowledge, that she could barely say anything. In listening to everyone else, she made her voice sound like everyone else’s.
She grew unhappy with this situation. She started to wonder if she ever had a voice in the first place. Or if it was all just a dream. Something made up.
But every once in a while, she would see someone else singing with their own unique voice, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she indeed must have a voice.
All she had to do was to find it!
So she started to look for it.
She took a bunch of tests that promised to tell her exactly what her voice was supposed to look like. She took a bunch of voice leadership courses and certifications as well…in the hopes of…well, she didn’t really know. It just sounded like something her voice ought to be doing.
But she was nowhere close to making her millions. Of finding her millions of adoring fans.
She would get hopeful and then lose all hope. So she would often find herself binging through shows on her screen, and looking to escape to the perfect spot that she had seen about.
Until one day, she went into work to realize a computer had started to speak a voice that sounded vaguely like hers. But that was enough for her boss to realize that they didn’t need her.
Dejected, alone, she went back home.
The TV shows did nothing for her. They all felt the same. And looking at the photos of other people in far off places did nothing to make her feel anything either.
So she decided to go and look for her voice again. Not to make millions, or find millions of fans. But just for herself. For the delight it gave her.
At first, she thought she had lost it. But bit by bit, she started to hear the voice. It wanted to be found.
She found it in the moments of silence.
She found it when she played with children.
She found it as she sang in the shower.
She found it in the pages she wrote just for herself.
She found it when she looked at the stars.
She found it in her dreams.
She found it when she dropped trying to chase.
She learned that her voice had never left her. It was just waiting to come back out when she was ready.
Where will you look for your voice?