Distant noises.

"And all the other voices said, 'change your mind, you're always wrong'." I've been thinking a lot about other voices.  Voices from my past that told me I wasn't quite right.  Voices from the media that tell me I'm too old, not blonde enough or buxom enough to be valuable.  Voices from society that remind me that my house isn't large enough, our car is too old and our bank account could us a couple zeros at the end of it.

There are times in my life when I can hear my own voice loud and clear.  When it screams to me: "Date that guy!", "Get out of bed and go to the gym", "Graduate from college", "Start that company", "Write that story," and on.  My own voice is clear, beautiful, and positive.

Yet, my voice is the hardest to hear.  If I get quiet and breathe, it's nearly impossible to hear my voice over the din of "shoulds" and negative "not enoughs".  When I review my journals, diligently kept for years at a time, I discover that I write a lot about my anxiety for not meeting the "shoulds" in my life.

How do you listen to your own inner voice?  What do you do when you've lost it (again)?

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