Recently I had the privilege of participating in the “live and local” program in corroboration with the Sydney Writers Festival, The Lighthouse, and TRC. Joined by fellow authors, Nola Lorraine and Jessica Kate, we were invited to speak on the topic of “considering a faith-based life from an author’s perspective”. We also got to sit in on some great live-feed sessions, including with the renowned Trent Dalton.

As I sat listening to Trent’s extraordinary life story, he said something that set off a cracker in my brain. He shared about the moment he realised how incredible his family story was, and how this (very personal) story needed to be told.

In that moment it struck me how readily we take onboard and celebrate other people’s stories, yet seldom do we sit in the honesty and familiarity of our own journey to “here and now”, and allow ourselves to truly reflect on the key heroes and turning points in that world. None of us are made from a cookie cutter.

I have been, and continue to become, increasingly conscious of the individuality and uniqueness of each person’s journey and our swiftness to dismiss our own story as relevant and impactful. Yet, we are all positioned in this place-in-time for a purpose, making each of our stories extraordinary – whether we realise this, or not.

This raised for me two questions: Who am I? Who are you?

I ask these questions again, encouraging each of us to sit and reflect on the ordinary and familiar (to us), whilst celebrating the heroes that have paved the road to our now. What is our story?

The beautiful reality of humanity and our coexistence, is that each of us carry a voice that is our own, and no matter how loud or influential you (or I) feel our voice is, it is our mandate to not leave that voice unheard.

You and you alone possess your voice, in all its uniqueness, purpose, and power for this moment in time. For I quote: “Truth needs your voice” ~J. Enlow

Don’t let it go unheard.