No matter what happens in life, you will always have your voice. It’s always there, even if you’re sleeping. Sometimes it whispers to your body, telling it to heal from the day. Sometimes it speaks in your dreams. But when you are awake, you may think all the chatter in your head is your voice. It isn’t. At least, not always. It depends on how you hear it. Do you listen to it with your gut or from your heart? Because they are the truth tellers. Be aware. What pours into our brain from the world around us, the world we live in, from wherever we choose to listen, might influence our decisions and actions. But our own particular voice is fed from the truths that resonate. All that other stuff is talking over it.

By our actions, we give rise to our voices. We share them with the world by what we do. When we face disappointment or crisis alongside others, our voices tell the world, “We care.” From our hearts. When we see the need for change and we act on it, our voices show the world what can be done. If you are a dancing mailbox, you are changing the world. You speak to the voice in someone else’s head, saying, “Look, your rights will not be denied. Exercise them.” If you are an artist and you made a poster or wrote a song that resonates with what so many others were thinking, your voice is now inside others’ heads telling them, “You’re not alone.” And that voice is not chatter. It is speaking truth to their hearts and guts.

We’ve been through a lot over these last few years. The world is changing faster than we ever imagined. We’ve seen so many things unravel before our eyes: Devastating fires around the world, earthquakes, floods, tornados, hurricanes, war, starvation and disease, terrorism in all its forms, domestic and foreign. Poverty level statistics are flying under the radar but they’re rising. Displacement and desperation is reaching record numbers. For many, those who live it and those who can only watch in horror, the weight is too much. They self-destruct.

In our politicized society, we wonder who’s watching and who is not. Who cares and who doesn’t.

We all have the freedom to answer those questions with our own voices. Whatever motivates us to respond is something or someone else’s truth speaking to our hearts and our guts. It’s really not that complicated. If we sift through the chatter, the things that resonate with our core values are the ones that will win in the end. They are the values that take you on the journey of your life. So listen carefully to those particular ones you hear from within. Whatever is unique to you is why you are here. Give it the benefit of your voice. Ignore the chatter that doesn’t resonate. Move forward. Create. Do good things.

If we’ve learned anything this year, of all years, I think it’s been finding out how so many people have shown courage and resilience in the face of extreme adversities. There are those who meet the challenge without recognition. Many who suffer silently, but still create or do the right thing. There are those who put their lives and reputations on the line to come to the aid of others or tell the truth when it must be told. They will always be my heroes. Their voices speak from love.

Jennifer Canfield is a resident of Damascus, PA.