COMMUNITY SOUND OFF: ON HUFFPOST LIVE

Today, I was invited into a conversation. After answering the open invitation to submit a video on HuffPost Live, I received an email with a question. Would I like to be a part of a Community Sound Off segment on August 22?

I said yes immediately and scanned the latest edition of Huffington Post to find several articles and topics that stirred something in me.

An hour before the show, four articles were chosen from a variety of links submitted by six women and men in the segment. I didn't know very much about the topics: Free Trade Agreement with Bahrain, The North Korean Gulag at Future Olympics, Semen Ovulation Study and Cell Phones Used to Track Your Every Move. I had some thoughts but they weren't topics I had EVER discussed out loud. With one hour to go before the LIVE show, I dove into reading, googling, thinking and taking notes.

When the show began, I was a little nervous and feeling shy and unsure of myself. The host/facilitator, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin ( @ASE ), was warm, inviting, engaging and encouraging. When I didn't speak for awhile he invited me into the conversation. I felt safe, seen, and acknowledged. I wanted to share more of my ideas. The experience made me want to be more informed, to engage in more conversations, to broaden my knowledge base and to ask more questions.

In my day to day life, as the founder of Heal My Voice, I work with, promote, encourage and listen to women. I create safe spaces, invite them into the conversation and shine a spotlight on them. Today was my turn...to step out of my comfort zone and to offer my ideas and thoughts into the Google Hangout on HuffPost Live.

For many women, it takes courage to put our voices into the world. It takes practice. It takes listening to our inner thoughts and feelings. It takes a willingness to share our opinions, to know that we have wisdom and experiences to share. To know that we have VOICES.

I am not interested in women taking over the world. I just want them to be a part of the conversation. 

Today on HuffPost LIVE...I WAS.

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Want to watch the 20 minute HuffPost Live segment? CLICK HERE

The article I wanted to discuss was removed from the list right before the show.

Here is the link: CLICK HERE

I will post my thoughts about that on another day...