For the past couple of months I have been posting information, ideas, and stories. I have been given the task from my media consultant to find “authentic voice.” What is my authentic voice you might ask?
Well that is a good question.
When I think of my authentic voice I think about those things that mean the most to me. I think about speaking from my own truth – my own viewpoint of how the world works. However on the way home on Friday night from the San Francisco Writer’s Conference with my media consultant, we had an interesting conversation.
An important point: My friend (the media consultant) had just spent the whole day before the conference driving up from Los Angeles which is not a short drive. Upon driving into the city she spent the next few hours picking up and shuffling friends from the airport to their hotel. Only after that did she make the additional hour drive out to our house only to arrive around 10:30 that night.
She then worked at the computer for an additional hour as she was presenting at the conference that day and needed to get her powerpoint presentation in order. So, with only a few hours of sleep, we both got up and headed into the city for a stimulating day at the conference.
I know I am getting to the point in a round about way but it is important to set the stage that as we were driving back from the conference, we were both stimulated and excited from the day’s event, but both very tired.
Even though we had previously had several conversations and she had looked at the vast majority of my writing and had listened to the various projects I had in mind, she still was searching for the root that was “my voice.” The car ride became a never ending question and answering session of her asking, “What else?”
It’s funny in that I began answering the question by logically answering about the vision I had for helping evolve consciousness. The only problem with that is that consciousness is such a vague word to a lot of people. It is a term that is somewhat… out there.
I continued on to say that I wanted to help people come to know that themselves better and by doing so they could make healthier choices both in their personal and professional lives.
“What else?”
I thought for a moment.
“I want business people who either are in business or who are thinking of going into business to come from a place in their heart that honors themselves, their families, their employees in a way that is very different from the traditional work model. I want business owners and employees to care more deeply about their relationship and what they are doing and not doing for each other.”
“What else?”
By this point, I knew we were digging and trying to flush out the true essence of what I wanted to speak from.
I thought for a moment and felt myself drop deeper in to my heart. When I spoke a few seconds later I could feel an energy welling up inside of me.
“I want people to realize that this moment, this breath that they take is so precious and that the people in their life are there for a reason and a choice. I want us to learn to go inside our heart and love from a place that honors that part of us…”
At this point it was hard to continue because the emotion was spilling over and I told her so.
“And that’s the voice to speak from,” she said softly.
I let the words settle into the depth of my being as the truthful impact of this statement hit me.
“Yes.”
I can write about a lot of things ladies and gentleman. I have wonderful academic credentials and certifications that look very impressive on paper. (To me anyway… hee) But as much as I honor those experiences and documents, the true essence of what I have to say doesn’t come from a Ph.D. or license.
The essence comes from my heart.
It comes from a place of compassion and reverence for life.
My life and your life.
That is magic.
That is emotional.
That is the essence of my life and the mission.
So while I may talk about politics, psychology, martial arts, or even esoteric terms life consciousness transformation or planetary sustainability, the true message I want to convey revolves around the fact that life is so very short.
It is short and it goes quick.
Death is coming for us all but in that time between the first gasp of a newborn and the last sigh of someone dying there is an opportunity.
That opportunity is about learning how to love.
I said it.
I know it sounds fluffy.
I know it is part of the soft skills.
It is my mission.
It is your mission.
You don’t have to believe it, but…
That doesn’t mean it is not true.
The more we fight it, the more that we rationalize ways of doing and being and creating that takes us away from this goal, the farther we get from achieving it.
Ponder this in the quiet spaces of your mind and answer me this:
“When is it NOT the time to learn and practice how to love?”
That is my mission.
As they say in the Mission Impossible show and movies:
“It is your mission – if you choose to accept it.”
I hope you do.
As always, I LOVINGLY look forward to hearing from you.
Ray