Recently I was asked, “When did you find your voice and how do you help your clients find their voice?”  What powerful questions!  I thought about how to answer those two questions for weeks.  Tomorrow is the anniversary of the day Vera Katz, former Mayor of Portland declared June 14th John Mosser Day. John was my father.  I know the answer to both questions.

I found my voice on August 21, 1996.  My father was in a coma and dying.  I couldn’t stand to hear his labored breathing.  I leaned over him and said, “Dad it is okay to let go, forget the car keys* and leave.  We’ll be okay.”  He opened his eyes, looked into mine, and breathed his last breaths.  It was my voice, my permission, that released him.

*Every morning my father would leave the house, walk to his car, get in his car, get out of his car, and walk back to the house for his keys.  Sometimes it was multiple trips back and forth between the car and the house for his hat, briefcase, coat, but always for his keys.

I help my clients find their voice by giving them the permission they need to let go.  Let go of stuff they never wanted, but hold onto because of guilt, or not wanting to hurt someone or the money spent on things, and all the many reasons they hold on.

Often the key to living an organized life is having or accepting permission to release things that are not serving our lives today.  If permission is what you need to let go of your belongings, you have mine.  Believe me, you will be okay.

When did you find your voice?