Your Voice is Your Soul

When I first got hired as a public school teacher, I was hired for a half-time position. 

Because I created a class that students loved, I doubled my enrollment for the following school year and started teaching my beloved animal science class full time. 

A month into this full-time position, I was contacted by the district and informed that my school administration had never sought permission from the powers that be for me to be a full-time teacher and so I would have to be cut back to a half-time position. 

"What about all the kids already in my class?"

"They'll have to change their schedules and pick up new classes."

"Thirty kids? A MONTH into the school year? That's not fair to them. That's stupid!"

"Those are the rules.""Well then the rules are stupid." 

Spoiler alert - I raised enough hell to keep my class and my students. 

Surprise, surprise, the multibillion dollar school district was able to find the whopping $12,000 that was the second half of my full-time salary. They just had to be pushed to do it.

I've gotten more tactful as the years have gone by...but I still call it like I see it. Much to the chagrin of the powers that be. When I managed a teacher training grant, I insisted there be teacher representatives on the leadership teams that supported the program. District leaders told me it was impossible. I said it was non-negotiable, and guess what, they figured it out. When members of the theater I managed demanded we stop doing plays with LGBTQIA+ themes, despite all our theater members who were part of that community, I kept doing them. When my assistant principal wanted me to fail a student (who wasn't failing) so he could kick him out of the school, I said no and the student stayed in school.

What I've learned about the "powers that be," the system we've been trained not to challenge, the system that NEEDS to keep us in our place so it can feed on our life force, is that one good dose of courageous speaking can bring it to its knees. 

The Patriarchy demands your silence because it fears your soul.

It's not your words that raise the alarm, it's who you are capable of being and what that means you are capable of doing. 

You are capable of creating change, working for justice, birthing new worlds. JUST by refusing to bow at the feet of the system.

The Patriarchy is really quite flimsy because it has no authentic truth in it. 

A system that concentrates power in the hands of the few and tries to rewrite systemic oppression as righteous gospel is destined to fail because it goes against the very fabric of the human soul. 

Your wise self knows this and it tells you so. Sometimes, it whispers. Sometimes, it shouts. But it never stops speaking to you of the fire in your belly, the love in your heart, the compassion in your soul. 

I am not suggesting it is easy to use your voice on behalf of the vision you have, the reality you wish to build. Not by a long shot. But you CAN do it. 

And the more you do it, the bolder you become. 

Start with something small. Maybe something in a personal relationship that feels unbalanced or something at work that feels ineffective. Take the risk by simply asking, "Would you be willing to explore this with me? I think we could create a better outcome for everyone involved by taking a new approach." 

And then talk. And listen. Empathize AND advocate. Paint the picture that your wise self can see.

On behalf of yourself, others and all that you hold dear, let your voice pave the way for a new reality to rise and allow yourself permission to inhabit it.