{"id":1303,"date":"2020-10-09T07:11:39","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T13:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/\/?p=1303"},"modified":"2020-10-09T07:17:18","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T13:17:18","slug":"voice-for-the-voiceless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/?p=1303","title":{"rendered":"voice (for the voiceless)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Years ago, when I first used that phrase “voice for the voiceless”, I thought it was only for a few…my sister (who has autism), those with intellectual disabilities and those who no longer had family. As time passed, I realized it’s for anyone. It’s for (fill in the blank)<\/em>. It’s inclusive. It’s for us ALL<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

At some point, we may all<\/em> have felt that we had no voice, or our voice didn’t count. What I didn’t fully realize (till a few short years ago) was that the little girl (my inner child) who didn’t feel worthy, safe, valuable enough to stand up for…who never felt enough<\/em> – not good enough, not intelligent enough, not attractive enough, not spiritual enough, not funny enough, etc…had<\/em> a voice…and could use her voice!<\/p>\n

Voice.for.the.Voiceless<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I found my voice and lost it and found it and lost it so much over the years. Ok, some years, I just sat on it. I was sad, disappointed and afraid at different points on this journey. I took to heart the words that other humans said. Some well-intentioned, some hurtful-not-helpful, some unkind and some positive.<\/p>\n

My words to myself were cutting…an attempt to “beat myself into shape” mentally. I didn’t realize I was silencing myself. As much as others hurt me, I didn’t see that I had joined them in squashing my own voice.<\/p>\n

Also, what I believed for so long was that my voice could be taken, but what I know today is that I need not<\/strong> give my voice away. Words may be said, hurtful actions taken against me, but I can still stand on the solid ground of Truth. I can still speak up…even if it is just a Whisper<\/em>.<\/p>\n

IF my voice is literally stripped away, I can write. I can type. I can sign (not fluently!). I can wave my hands, a flag, a sign\/poster. So, I will…for myself…for those who are differently abled…for those in a verbally\/physically\/mentally\/emotionally or spiritually abusive relationship feeling<\/em> no hope of relief…for those seeing no way out and feeling alone…for those trapped in their minds unable to express the myriad of thoughts…for those similar to my sister…for all<\/em> who cross paths with me and are in need of a Voice.<\/p>\n

I AM a voice<\/strong><\/em> for the voiceless.<\/p>\n

Some days are exhausting beyond description. Some days are excruciatingly painful. Some days I feel so alone. I know<\/em> I’m never alone, but some days it feels like I’m so<\/em> alone. I am not alone. We<\/strong><\/em> are not alone. In the difficult moments, I AM reminding myself of these truths:<\/p>\n

The Divine is ever-present<\/strong>, ever-near, always available for a chat. <\/em>Even in moments when I feel distance, I close my eyes or take a deep breath and immediately sense Peace. I am not<\/em> saying it’s always rainbows and butterflies and chocolate chip cookies. I am<\/em> saying, we are promised the Presence of Peace, always.<\/p>\n

We are not promised that this life will be comfortable or easy (although we tend to consistently seek that!). We are promised that we will never<\/em> be abandoned, never<\/em> be alone because the Presence of The Divine is with us.<\/p>\n

The Divine is always<\/strong> available for a hug via a breeze, the waves\/sounds of the ocean, the smile of a stranger, laughter, a song that moves our soul, shared tears and an innumerable amount of other ways. Take a deep breath or close your eyes or both and feel the Peace that surpasses all understanding.<\/em><\/p>\n

Earlier this week, a friend sent me a Power\/Affirmation\/Truth statement that she wrote. It was\/is thought-provoking and empowering so I wanted to share it for us all…I recommend reading it aloud and<\/em> loudly if<\/em> you can\/want!<\/p>\n

“Don’t be a Footnote. Write Your Own Story – I Write My Story. Breaking the Shackles of Expectations; I Soar Free, I Fly High. I May Win, Face Defeat or Just Get By. But I Own My Story. I define My Destiny. My Dreams, My Being. I Walk to My Own Beat and Sing to My Own Song. Never Mind the Conversations Around Me, About Me; Words of Hate May Become The Wind Beneath My Wings. I Am Not An Afterthought, Never a Footnote. I am the Headline, the Punchline. I Sweat my Days and Breathe in the Nights. I Laugh, I Tear Up, I Tread through, I Get Tired. But Never Give Up and Never Give In. I Live My Adventure. I Write My Own Story”. Gauthami Vemula, Founder: UGauGrrl.com <\/a><\/p>\n

Also, fellow\/caring humans<\/em> are just a phone call, text, video chat or drive\/flight away. Speak up! Reach out! HERE for and with YOU! We<\/em> are not alone!<\/p>\n

Common Day Hero:<\/span><\/strong><\/em> You are brave. You have a genuine love for all people. You have taken care of many around you and it does not go unnoticed. You are such a creative soul and I believe the world really needs your art. Sarah, I dedicate this post to you.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Years ago, when I first used that phrase “voice for the voiceless”, I thought it was only for a few…my sister (who has autism), those with intellectual disabilities and those who no longer had family. As time passed, I realized it’s for anyone. It’s for (fill in the blank). It’s inclusive. It’s for us ALL.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[34,40,38,12,41,22,35,36,42,37],"class_list":["post-1303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-divine","tag-peace","tag-signlanguage","tag-speakup","tag-thedivine","tag-truth","tag-voice","tag-voiceforthevoiceless","tag-whisper","tag-write"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lalijean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/matt-botsford-OKLqGsCT8qs-unsplash.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1303"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1352,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303\/revisions\/1352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lalijean.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}