Sunday
Feb272011
Because I Have a Voice
February 27, 2011 * * * * * Posted by: Marcie 
By the time you read this – the Oscars will have been handed out…the red carpet will have been rolled away..and it will be just a day like any other.
Altho I’ve seen only a few of the movies that are up for the big awards – it is The King’s Speech that I most loved. The rendering of royalty as merely human – somehow surprised me. That simply being born into it..does not make one a ‘monarch’ or ‘a leader’..and that for those who are – it is not a life of choice..but one of duty and obligation.
This humble prince’s struggle to find himself and his voice..and to speak his words clearly and without hesitation somehow resonated with me. With a path and road laid out for him..without any question as to whether that sort of a life might fit his internal parts and pieces..he was pushed and forced to rise to the occasion. To be – who we know as - King George VI of England.
On some level – I’d like to believe that it’s a universal struggle..one each and every one of us bumps up against day after day. Or – perhaps – it’s just my own?
It wasn’t that long ago – it seems – when I first set out to find a ‘voice’. Although I never had any sort of speech impediment or difficulties – in my own way - I stammered..and stuttered…and struggled with forming my thoughts and ideas. Of expressing myself in a way that was uniquely mine. I knew what the path was that I was supposed to follow..but I couldn’t find the one that was true to my heart.
Set your intention
The energy will follow.
The quest for this ‘voice’ has become a big part of an ongoing conversation with myself. In my personal journaling..in my daily practice..in my life.
Like the Prince – I am lucky enough to have someone who walks beside me on this quest and journey. A trusted guide. A faithful witness. A someone who sits with my insecurities and fears…and who repeats and echos back at me my reluctant words. A one who listens and hears things that I’d rather not hear myself. Who sees me for who I am. A friend who often believes more in myself than I’ll ever.
It was in the last dialogue exchange between Colin Firth (the prince and reluctant King) and Geoffrey Rush (his speech therapist) – that I most remember. Angry at himself..frustrated..terrified..and needing to make his very first speech – the newly crowned ‘King’ challenged the credibility of his ordinary ‘teacher’…testing their relationship and trust. It was a back and forth conversation between two men who were being pushed to their emotional edge. To that – the teacher wondered and asked why it is that he should waste any more of his precious time listening to his friend and ‘King’. To which – the King replied – without hesitation or stammer or slightest hint of stutter:
“Because I have a voice.”
It was heroic..really. It was – in a man’s life – a transformative moment. To acknowledge to himself and discover that he does have a voice..and the inner strength and will to express it. I do believe – it’s universal. It’s not just he..or me..but something that each and every one of us struggles with at one point of another throughout life.
Lucky for me and for most - I’ll never have to appear in public..or make any sort of monumental speeches. I can stammer and stutter and bump my way along without anyone taking much notice. But – like the regal king – I wrestle with my voice. What it is..if I and it have anything worthwhile to say..and how that voice – if it were to actually speak out loud - might be received by its audience.
Quietly..on careful tiptoes and in soft whispers – I am finding my way. With stops and starts and long and deep and slow breaths. With exercises in proper elocution and execution. With practice. I can now say without so much question or self-doubt.
I do. I too. I have a voice.
Reader Comments (20)
And please don't ever, ever doubt it, Marcie!
The movie has yet to come here to our neck of the woods, but even without seeing it, I wanted it to win the Best Picture...and he the Best Actor. When I saw the confirmation upon waking this morning, I was a happy camper. What a timely post, Marcie, for this grand celebration of overcoming life's obstacles, most of which are of our own creation.
Thanks for the reminder that we all have our own voice!
Like Ginnie says, we are always a bit later with the outcome of movies...
your reciting of the words spoken in the movie gives me goosebumps marcie!!!! i feel very proud of our royal family, am a royalist for sure, and even though i live outside jolly old england, i am very definitely a brit!!!
i know finding my voice came in much later life; the confidence to speak it, to care not so much what others think, to believe in myself and what things are important to me. i somewhat envy those who find their's earlier, but each to his/her own. do our voices keep changing as we go along i wonder? can you find a different one, a stronger one in a different direction the further forward you go - that will be interesting to see.
I've seen the movie last week (in Holland!), loved it! Wonderful how you translated it to your own (and everyone's) inner voice.
Marcie:
You have found your voice and you are speaking loudly and clearly--through your photography and your writings. What you have to "say" may change, but the voice is there for all of us to "hear."
Is it mostly us women who have such self-doubts, such difficulty finding our voices, or, once finding them, speaking loudly enough for others to hear? And, is is mostly us women of a certain age?
Absolutely beautiful photo and post. You have given me much to ponder today and I thank you for that.
I watched the awards and wished Melissa Leo whom I once adored on the t.v. show, "Homicide, Life on the Streets," had found a more humble voice. She had months to rehearse, and the beauty of being an actor is that you are speaking someone else's words! None of us really know the voice behind the voice other than talk shows and award shows...but for those of us who have to pen our own scripts to speak, this post resonates to all of every age. The struggle to speak the truth let alone seek the truth...I "hear" it in your daily practice, Marcie, and in every post. The beauty of this photo. The efforts made to observe and record and share. We are listening to you, and we are better for it.
It's a lovely lovely image, Marcie, and one that speaks a simplicity and elegance that resonates with the honesty of your words. You have a gift for bringing images and words together in harmony.
Oh yes, my dear Marcie, you do indeed have a voice! And these words I heard you speak here are some of the most beautiful and truthful.
I'm so happy for you on this path, and proud of you and your work, your art, your words ... your heart and spirit.
I could gaze at this image for hours ... brilliant post!
So glad that you found a guide whom you trust!
You do, and it is a beautiful voice. I think we all do struggle with this, each in our own way and in our own time, but that is where the beauty in life lies. And it is when we stand up in that moment and recognize it in ourselves first and foremost that we start to hear the music...
I love this image, and while I have yet to see the movie, it is at the top of my list.
And you speak so eloquently with that voice Marci. I do have to see that movie . ..
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I did see the scene you referred to here. It is very powerful.
And I can ensure you, Marcie, that you have your own voice and we can hear it loud and clear. Beautiful as well.
I'm still looking for mine. It's a fascinating journey.
Like Carola, I'm still looking (and listening) for my voice. "The King's Speech" is tops on my list of movies that I want to see. You definitely have your own voice and you expressed it quite well here.
Set your intention. Set your intention. I have to read this post again later because all the other words were washed away when I read set your intention. Wow.
I love this image. Love it!
"Quietly..on careful tiptoes and in soft whispers – I am finding my way." Yes, Marcie. You ARE finding your way. I love how you always acknowledge the importance of practice.
I am very moved by your words Marcie. I know someone who did not even stumble in her words, or stutter, but just was never heard. No one ever listened to a thing she had to say. And then she became a writer, and gave all of them a good shake and shiver by writing down all she always wanted to say, and they listened. For the first time!!
Thanks for reminding me of that!!
I love Colin Firth BTW. I was so proud of him for winning both film awards!!
Immediately after the awards ceremony I popped over to the computer and for come guided reason checked Vision and Verbs. And there it was, your glorious, glistening, calming photograph and most elegantly written PROSE I have read for a very long time. I put you up there with some of our greatest writers, Natalie Goldberg, Annie Lamont....you know, those who write significant reminders of one's heart. Only a few months ago I stumbled into Vision and Verbs and your own websites/blog. You are definitely bookmarked. I so look forward to anything you photograph or write. You truly have a voice. I do understand how long the path is, and some never make it; to find their own heart, passion and voice. I am so happy to have met you through the gift of the internet. Mine would have been the first posting, but I received a midnight phone call!!! So here I am at the end of the scroll, appreciating how everyone else has spoken what is in my heart and thoughts.
i haven't see but a clip of the speech, not the entire movie, i imagine it is a heart wrenching story, as mine is, and i haven't come as far as you have hon.... well said
I love this post and your 'voice' certainly speaks to me in both your writing and images. Lovely photo today.