“I’ll speak in a monstrous little voice.” ~ Shakespeare.

I recently skirted around and completely ignored mine. It nagged at me all day and rolled around in my belly until I had to let it out. This wasn’t easy. I had to set a professional boundary with a person I work with on occasion. What I thought would be no big deal escalated to such proportions that now we are doing most of our communication through email.

Yet, I couldn’t be more pleased.

I listened to my gut and found that the voice in my head knew instinctively that something was out of sorts. The thinker in me wanted to ignore the possibility that the relationship would want to creep beyond professional and into something more personal. However, after speaking my voice, this situation couldn’t be more true!

What would have happened had I not spoken up?

Here is the super cheese ball clincher: I reflected back to the scene in the Little Mermaid when Ariel gets her voice back. Maybe you don’t remember. Let me add a visual aid.

I collected the following 10 quotes to inspire you to grab hold of the voice that wants out and set it free. Speak your inner truth!

Nothing will change unless you speak the words you hold inside.

1. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” ~ Martin Luther King.

2. “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” ~ Mary Anne Radmacher

3. “A loud voice cannot compete with a clear voice, even if it’s a whisper.” ~  Barry Neil Kauffman

4. “One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can’t utter.” James Earl Jones.

5. “I’ll speak in a monstrous little voice.” ~ Shakespeare.

6. “There was a disturbance in my heart, a voice that spoke there and said, I want, I want, I want! It happened every afternoon, and when I tried to suppress it got even stronger.” ~ Saul Bellow.

7. “ Nothing that I can do will change the structure of the universe. But maybe, by raising my voice I can help the greatest of all causes—goodwill among men and peace on earth.” ~ Albert Einstein.

8. “Don’t let the noise of other people’s opinions drown out your inner voice.” ~ Steve Jobs.

9. “Listen to your own voice, your own soul, too many people listen to the noise of the world, instead of themselves.” ~ Leon Brown.

10. “Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.”~  Zen Master Dogen.

 

Rebecca Schwarz is in a state of constant awareness of just how amazingly glorious this existence can be on a small island in the middle of the Pacific. Monday mornings, early morning runs, channel crossings, belly laughter and her nieces are some of her favorite things. Sweet potatoes, kale and beets make her heart happy. She is contemplating filling her plate too full with the endless amounts of things to do in this life. If you want to try your luck put a note in a bottle and hope that it reaches her, or email her [email protected].

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Ed: Kate Bartolotta