The voice of reason…

                                                

What is a voice? We utter sounds, we talk, we sing, we yell, we cry, and we laugh. Laugh? Laughter feels seemingly rare right now but hopefully not on the brink of extinction. What about voices in the night? Voices in our head? Voices at the bully pulpit optimizing their agenda?

Desirable for a writer or a painter to have a voice.  The inner voice is displayed through style and uniqueness.  I paint like I write, and I write like I paint. My “voice” comes from deep within my heart and soul not something I can manufacture. When trying to emulate another painter or writer I fall flat. Disingenuous for me to try to be something I am not, and failure is certain.

 The many voices we are currently hearing are nearly too much and are taking up valuable mental and emotional real estate. Clearing the many voices is challenging right now making it hard to remember our own voices. Overload to say the least. Burdened daily.  A crowded brain can be suffocating while impeding clarity. The loudest voice in the room was once reason but not now…

 Running helps me to settle the noise, the voices. My copy of “PRE” catches my eye on the second shelf of my bookcase as I sit at my desk writing on this hot and humid August day. Steve “Pre” Prefontaine was an American long-distance runner who set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He tragically died at age 24 on May 31, 1975 in a car accident near his home in Eugene, Oregon. An incredible “voice” in the running world…

“Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, ‘I’ve never seen anyone run like that before.’ It’s more than just a race, it’s a style. It’s doing something better than anyone else. It’s being creative.”

Steve Prefontaine

We all have a voice. How we express our voice is as individual as each person.  Voices rise and fall with every generation even with each administration. History reminds us of the notable and prominent voices from the past. We rely on them to guide us forward. Possibly to justify our thoughts, beliefs, ideals and actions. Offering a validity to our voice even. A democracy is a government run by the people. Each citizen, each person has a say, a voice, a vote …

“Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt

                  Share your voice on November 3, 2020…VOTE