Grand BEing, Royals!
“You have been having our right so long, that you think, like a slaveholder, that you own us.” ~Sojourner Truth, 1867~
This evening, as I shopped in the “Sunshine State” of Florida, I was challenged by how certain people chose to interact (or not) with me. The first instance came as I was rounding the corner of the shoe section with my cart. There was a robust woman of color who had been a few feet down looking at shoes on the shelf when she noticed I was turning down the aisle. She chose to stand in front of my cart as if to demand me to move around her and I chose not to move. We made eye contact and that’s when the conversation began. Her eyes told me to move out of her way and my eyes told her no. She grunts and I say, “Figure it out.”
My next encounter came as I approached the counter to purchase the items in my cart. The cashier, a white male (possibly a fairer skinned male of color), chooses not to speak to me. I stood in the line waiting for him to say, “I can help you.”, which did not come. As I approached the counter, he chooses not to greet me and instead strike up a conversation with the cashier next to him. I assertively interrupt their conversation with, “And HELLO! HOW ARE YOU?” to which everyone stops talking and looks at me, including the now embarrassed cashier. He sheepishly says, “I’m well. How are you, Ma’am?” and proceeds to ring me out.
As we are walking to the car and I am lamenting these people’s poor choice of behavior with me, my daughter-in-love says, “Yes. You are confrontational.” And just that quickly, I began to question my responses to the aforementioned people. And I quickly conclude that I was not confrontational. I chose to use my voice and advocate for my right to BE! My right to be seen. My right to common courtesy. And the right to command the power of my voice.
Too often, I forget that my voice is a power. A power that I hold responsibility to. When I choose to suppress my voice, I tell my SELF I am not worthy to be defended. When I choose to weaken my voice, I tell my Soul I do not believe I have power. When I choose to ignore my voice, I tell The Universe I do not wish to manifest fully. And the same can be said for all of you. We have a responsibility to speak up and speak out with the power of our voices. And when we do speak up and speak out, we tell the collective, ourselves, our Souls, and the Universe, “The power of my voice is mine and no one but me owns this power.”
This week affirm to your SELF, your SOUL, and the UNIVERSE, “I stand in the power of my voice.” And “My voice carries the power of enlightenment and positive change for myself and all those who have the privilege to hear it.’
I stand in the power of my voice. The power to speak life and manifest goodness lies within my voice. The power to hold myself as chief advocate of ME rests within the frequencies of sound that I project into my and the collective reality. The power to shake the collective thought awake rides on the wave of my voice. The Kingdom of Heaven is within me and is revealed in my voice. Ase’ and Amen!
May the upcoming week resound with the power of your voice! Happy BEing!