Speak Up and Sing Out

Today I am grateful for rain to clean our streets and lawns. I am also grateful for keys and locks. 

Speak up and sing out. There are lots of ways we can give meaning to these words. Speak up when you have something to say. Speak up when you see injustice. Speak up when you want to thank someone. 

I am grateful for the voice I have found and the confidence I have gained in many arenas. It wasn't that way in my life for a long time, and I can thank gratitude practice for being one of the most important tools applied to improving my outlook on life and my efforts to live it well.

But what inspired this post was hearing Linda Ronstadt on the radio yesterday. I have satellite radio in my car and often listen to the 70's on 7. It's not unusual to hear a song from Ronstadt. She was a huge success that decade. Whenever I hear a song from her now though, I invariably think of how Parkinson's disease has silenced her voice. She can talk, but she can no longer sing out.

My brother-in-law Roger was silenced by Lewy Body Dementia. No more conversations or long walks with his wife, my sister Danita. People are silenced every day-by death, but also by shame, fear, despair. Let's help one another out. Speak up when silence needs to be broken. Sing out when joy strikes. And help others do the same. Make it safe to speak up and sing out.