My Dream of a Journey

Whether you’re a professor, photographer, pear grower, or porcelain expert… a surgeon or a sturgeon fisherman… Whether you deliver babies, speeches, or pizzas… design homes, hotels, hardware, or hoagie sandwiches… Whether you’re a member of Aerosmith, SixxAM, Audio Adrenaline, Sixpence None the Richer, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, or your local marching band… everyone has a story. So whether you’re passionate about sports, music, entertainment, finances, social services, your church, synagogue, or family, Journey to a Thousand Voices is all about people JUST like you! And it’s FOR people just like you.

Everyone has been through something… a trial of some sort. Everyone has to decide at some point what they truly believe in, and what is important to them. This project, Journey to a Thousand Voices, is all about helping people come to deeper realizations about who they are, Whose they are, and what they believe. It’s about learning from the experiences of others, and how we come to believe what we do. So, whether you have a story of overcoming insurmountable odds, of finding strength in weakness, of coming to a major ah-ha moment in your life… Journey to a Thousand Voices may also be an opportunity for you to share YOUR voice.

Hello there, friends, family, and blog readers from around the globe... as many of you know, my name is Harmony, and I have a dream. It’s a simple yet profound dream, really: travel to spend time with a minimum of 1000 people in as many places as I am able, given resources, to listen to the stories within their hearts. At the same time, I’d like to do some acts of kindness along the way and photograph the Journey, blogging my experience and the takeaways from each conversation. With Journey to a Thousand Voices, it is my goal to really get to listen to the heartbeat of the people, the life stories, the challenges and triumphs, the victories over trials that have tried to wipe us out. 

Tonight, I wanted to tell you a little more about the Journey to a Thousand Voices project I've been asking for help and contributions for. I hope it will clarify a few things and help you, too, become passionate about world change.

My own photo. Lincoln City, OR sunset.

  For those who want to contribute by sharing their story with me, I am honored to be your listener. And I respect whatever level of privacy you request. Some may wish the details of their stories be shared, others may not… and either way, lessons gleaned from a conversation can still be blogged while respecting the people involved. As for photos of those who share their stories, my plan is to capture a few photos of those who are willing, and preview them with you prior to posting them on the blog. As it is my hope to write an autobiography of the Journey afterward, the photos that are accepted for the blog are the only ones I will consider for that, as well.

My goal for this Journey, ultimately, is to visit with and listen to the stories of people in at least 8 states and 4 countries. Capture some amazing photography. Do some random acts of kindness. Make the Journey unforgettable, life-changing, and therefore world changing. With YOUR help, I'll be able to do just that, and you'll have played a part in helping define history fr the next generation to come.

The more I am able to raise, the more diversity there can be, and the more diversity, the more people will be helped in the broader sense. The more diversity there is the more in-tune we can ALL become with what is happening in our world today in the lives of people just like us. What lessons will we learn along the way? How will our beliefs be strengthened or stretched?

People need HOPE. They need to be able to share their experiences in a safe manner, knowing their listener will respect them, no matter what. I believe my quest to begin – and fulfill – Journey to a Thousand Voices is a vehicle for that to occur.

As a Christian, writer, life coach, and photographer, I understand the power of words, of story, of image, and of authenticity – all important aspects of this Journey. I have extensively studied to prepare myself for such an experience, and was inspired to this end while in grad school at Warner Pacific College, where I looked at the intersection of faith, healing, and creativity. I have also been inspired by the lives of many whom I have had the absolute privilege to meet and get to know through my work with women and children who have endured varying crises, and through varying ministry opportunities and experiences. I have a passion for helping people to become the best selves they possibly can be as they overcome obstacles and obstructions of life and walk into their destinies.

My own photo. taken at Oregon coast.

 Will you help me fulfill this Journey? Will you become part of the support team for this endeavor? 

I would greatly appreciate it!  

You might be asking, What's in it for ME?  I'm glad you asked! 

--Follow my journey via a variety of social media outlets.

--Cool postcards and/or photos along the way for those helping fund the project in amounts over $200.

--Big gratitude, e-thanks, handwritten thanks, Facebook updates, and thank yous posted on the blog I will use for this Journey. (That would be THIS blog!)

--Some of you will have the opportunity to become part of the 1000 I talk with for the blog.

--Depending on how much is raised, those who become part of the 1000 will get to meet with me in some pretty special places! And where it is a group meeting, you have the opportunity to be part of group photos for the blog, too.

--For those who would rather not meet in person, there is a ChocolateThanks option, where I send you some pretty fancy chocolate as part of my thanks. There’s also a pretty cool Glittery Thanks option, which has a one of a kind necklace as part of the thank you. 

Why is Journey to a Thousand Voices So Important?

--People can share their stories, which is a cathartic act, leading to healing.

--Readers can follow stories and learn from the lessons of other people's lives.

--Photography of the Journey makes the experience more holistic and fluid. It helps bring the stories to life, while helping others discover the beauty of the world around them.

--Journey to a Thousand Voices is one step in a bigger whole for me. My ultimate goal is to listen to 10,000 stories over the next 10 to 12 years.

--This is a way I can share the unconditional love of Jesus Christ with those around me, no matter who they are, their background, or what they believe.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 tells us that "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. "

This is a way that YOU can be a cheerful giver, and so can I. For out of the giving of many, the giving TO many can become a reality!

Thank you for taking the time to read through this, and for your consideration, prayers, contributions, and passings-along of this project, Journey to a Thousand Voices. May it bless all who help prepare the way, beyond measure!