I love M. Night Shyamalan's films. He's the guy who did 'The Sixth Sense' and went on to do other movies including 'Unbreakable' and 'The Village'. He has a peculiar knack for looking into humanity, situations and individuals and weaving magic into what he sees. A talented guy.
I recently saw his latest film, 'The Lady in the Water', which is described as 'a bedtime story'. I loved it, and while I'm not going to describe the plot for you there's a line from one scene that I'd like to share, for the reason that when I heard it it leaped out of the screen and left me pretty much speechless. At one point, a character asks another, "May I say one thing$%:", pauses, and says slowly,
"The moment a person finds their voice...is the moment their life takes on grace."
Number of paragraphsWow.
Grace is word that's been popping up all over the place for me over the last few months, and that line goes some way to letting me know why.
I'm not a religious man, so the word grace has no religious connotations for me. To me, grace is about simplicity, effortlessness and congruity. When someone finds grace there's an elegance, an ease and a sense of wholeness about them. Before a person 'finds their voice' it's likely they'll be struggling with things in and around their lives. Before a person knows themselves, what their voice sounds like and what it wants to say, they won't fully be who they can be. Their life might be full of clutter. They'll feel like they're looking for something. They'll feel, in those quiet moments, that something's missing.
Finding your voice is finding you. Here's something I want you to try.
- Imagine that your voice - in a more vital, more congruent, more graceful you - is at your front door, waiting to be let in.
- You open the door, invite your voice in and offer it a seat, maybe even something to drink. It's okay if you want to pretend like you're out or shout "Not today thank you" through the door. This doesn't happen every day, but there you are, you and 'your voice' sitting together in your home.
- Your voice thanks you for your hospitality, and says that it has some important things to say, some things that it wants you to know.
- What does your voice tell you$%: What does that more vital, more congruent, more graceful you want you to know$%: What might your voice have learned or discovered that it wants to pass on to you$%: Write down your answers.
Grace is magical. Simple as. Grace is the quality that brings it all together. It's also the essence of what I've called Effortless Confidence. When you find your voice, when you let in who you are and what you're about, you also let in grace.
And that's where the magic in life lives.