One summer night a few years ago, I was in New York City. I was with a group of friends waiting at the crosswalk for the light to change. It goes without saying there were a ton of people around; it’s New York City after all.

While waiting, I heard one voice above the noise of the crowd that sounded familiar to me. I knew that voice. I hadn’t heard it in a long time, but I recognized it.

It was my friend, Erika. I quickly scanned the crowd to find her. We went to grad school together and it had been a long time since we talked and I didn’t know she was in NYC.  I walked over to her and we both laughed at the unlikeliness of hearing her in a crowd in one of the busiest cities in the world. When you know a voice well, it’s easy to recognize it.

What about your own voice? The one that comes from your own heart and mind, that is developed from your own thoughts, perspective, and life experience?

Do you know it? What does it sound like?

There’s a lot of “noise” out there and it can be difficult to hear our own thoughts and perspective above it all. What (or who) we listen to helps us make decisions, influences our perspective, shapes who we are as people.

Whose voice do you hear?

Is it your own? Do you recognize it?