Welcome to this week’s entry in my Grateful Heart Monday series, where I continue to focus on expressing a piece of gratitude from my life, which for today stems from having lost my voice for a few days recently that made me realize during it just how much I need to be thankful for it.
Just about a week ago now, I was going through some type of chest cold that began with a pretty serious hacking cough when I suddenly started my voice. It frankly hurt to talk and led to several days where I wasn’t able to speak much at all. During those few days where I found myself listening more than speaking, I had a moment of hypochondria-based panic where I imagined a life where my voice was gone for good, which honestly overwhelmed me immensely.
Sure, I know that I could learn sign language to communicate if that were to ever happen, but with most of the world not knowing that language, I know it would seriously limit my ability to connect with many other human beings like I currently do, something I very much enjoy doing in life presently. I am more of a people person than not and truly enjoy human interaction. I have often thought that if I could ever have one superpower, it would be the ability to communicate in every language of this world. So, even the thought of potentially losing my ability to speak brought up fear.
I use my voice regularly in my 12 Step speaking engagements. A week ago, I spoke to almost 30 people at a detox where quite a few approached me afterward telling me how much my story of addiction to recovery moved them and helped them. I was thankful for that and feel God has given me a strong ability to connect with other human beings through my voice, which is why I don’t take my gift of speaking lightly and have often expressed gratitude for even the ability to do public speaking, something far too many struggle with. But to do public speaking, of course that requires having a voice to start with, and that’s something I never really put much thought to until I mostly lost my voice.
I have much compassion these days for people who don’t have a voice, who are deaf or mute, especially more so now experiencing even a few days where I wasn’t able to communicate effectively. My voice is something I’ve come to rely upon a lot in my life and never really put much thought or gratitude for.
So, I am extremely thankful to God today for having a voice and for my loss of it only being temporary, temporary enough that I was able to reflect upon this and realize how grateful I should be for a part of me that is crucial to my 12 Step recovery presently and to the life I’ve been living.
Thank you, God, for my voice. It’s something I never put much thought toward, that is until I struggled to have one for a few days, which is why I dedicate today’s Grateful Heart Monday to a part of me that You gave me so gratuitously.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
