"Freedom is not something that
anybody can be given. Freedom is something people take, and people are as free
as they want to be." ~James Baldwin
I have always sung. It is where my “voice” has always lived.
Not just the melodic retelling of others stories in others words. I sing
because in it I have always been able to tell my truth. It is my gift from Spirit
by which to obtain my freedom. I was 7 when I realized that anyone other than
me wanted to hear me sing. I was 9 when I realized that my voice could inspire
others. I was 12 when I wrote my first song and realized my voice could be used
to tell MY truth. I was 16 when I wrote a song about apartheid on MLK’s holiday
weekend and sang it to my mother. I was changed when she looked at me with eyes
that said “You are SO much more than the little girl I birthed.”
This gift of song has carried me through my greatest loss
and toughest times in life. However, it wasn’t until this past year that I
realized that this gift of song was so much more than a gift. It was my
salvation. We all face challenges in life and I truly believe that Spirit
allows us challenges knowing that we are fully equipped to overcome them. The
Most Beloved is sure of our success because of the divine preparation put into
all of us. We are all provided with that talent, that gift that will not only
sustain us through the tough times but propel us to the other side of the
darkness. (1 Cor 10:13)
During my personal and health challenges at the end of 2012
and through 2013 it was the ability to write my feelings that allowed me to
overcome. And that day in late July 2013 when I bust out in spontaneous song for
the first time in months, the cloud lifted and I could see the coming of day. It
was in that moment that the reflection of all my difficult times came rushing to
mind and I was able to see that whenever I was at the brink of complete annihilation
or self-destruction the love of Spirit, through this gift of song I was given,
lifted me.
The only thing in life that is free is choice. The rest we
will have to work for. That includes freedom itself. The wonderful part is that
we’ve already been provided with the tools needed to free ourselves. Incidentally,
those are the same tools given to each of us to play our part in freeing the
planet. We often hear the old adage “We won’t have world peace until there is
inner peace.” And though its use is cliché, the truth of the statement remains.
As we each use our personal talents to free ourselves from the tyranny of fear,
doubt and limitation, we will inspire others to discover and use theirs as
well. The more of us that are free, the more of us available to devote our time
and energy to inspire and guide others to personal freedom. Personal freedom is
the key to equality and freedom reigning in the world. For the personally free among
us will not be able to accept less than all of us being free. As I prepare to
release my first musical offering in the form of an EP to the world this year,
my hope is that this gift of song that frees me a little more each time I open
my mouth, will lead others to discover their own gift to the road of freedom
and in doing so inch us all a little closer to when we:
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