That Little Voice

There's not one human being on this planet that doesn't have a skill or talent that's exceptional. I remember as a boy we had a kid in our small Iowa town that was considered (Retarded) and yet he could sit down with white tablet paper and a pencil and draw the most incredible pictures. They were almost life like and yet the kid was declared dumb and thus attended a class for mentally challenged students. I was supposed to be smart and I loved to draw, but I couldn't come close to matching the images this kid could create. I eventually had to cheat and take up photography where I'd let my camera draw pictures for me.

As the picture in the upper right shows, deep inside each and every one of us there's talent and ability just waiting to be brought to the surface. What holds us back? As a life long victim of constantly getting in my own way I can tell you it's fear, the opinions of others and certainly in my case the burning desire for approval, acceptance and justification from peers and family when quite frankly their opinions didn't matter. What's really important is listening to the voice inside of us and trusting that voice and letting it guide us on our life's journey. That voice will always lead you to a place where you will be happy and full of passion because you will be doing what you were destined to do. I ignored my internal voice and instead constantly fought, kicked and screamed my way up-stream in the Corporate World hating where I was going and knowing that when I got to where-ever it was I was going, I wouldn't be happy or satisfied when I got there. Strangely enough, that little voice never goes away no matter how much you ignore it and over time it actually gets louder.

Here's something else I've learned in this life of battling up stream. It's a lot easier to turn around and let the current, "Your internal guide" simply carry you down stream. The people you see that are prosperous and happy have figured that little ditty out while the stressed out, miserable, hard working members of the local herd are still sloshing up the stream exhausted and miserable.

Think about it for a minute. Were you born into this world to work sixty hours a week, live pay check to pay check, and frantically get to the week-end so you could spend Saturday and Sunday doing all your errands to get caught back up just so you could face Mr. Monday again? Of course you weren't. Every last one of us is here on purpose and this physical experience is supposed to be joyous. If it's not joyous you're cheating yourself, your family and the world in general by not being the very best you can be.

When I finally started listening I was 56 years old, divorced and working 80 hours a week in the restaurant industry. I sat there one night in a loaned out condo sixty miles from my house that was currently up for sale and I said ENOUGH, enough damn it! I quit the next day and embarked on a journey to recapture my life and work on my dual passions of photography and writing. Now if you'll excuse me it's time for my guitar lesson.