Well, hello, my friends, and welcome to the Live Inspired podcast, Monday morning moments with John

O'Leary. I record these so that you and I can begin our days and our weeks in awe and on fire with a burst of inspiration.

And this one is titled, The Gift of Silence, the Gift of Silence.

Near the end of a hectic week of speaking events, it was obvious that I was getting sick with something, some kind of sinus infection.

What began as a raspy voice a

couple weeks ago when I started speaking turned into an absolute whisper by the end of it. By the

time I got home that evening, my voice was completely gone. Completely gone. And what started as a sinus infection manifested into a double

ear infection led to a swollen, irritated throat, and then eventually total arrangitis. My body ached,

ears throbbed, swallowing was difficult, almost impossible. But for me, the most difficult aspect

was the total loss of speech. After a little bit more than a week of being locked in total silence,

though, as my voice continues to return, you hear it even now, there have been some unlikely

and remarkable gifts that were

discovered in losing my voice i wanted to share these five gifts with you today in the hope that

they might encourage you that regardless of what you're facing right now that there are lessons

to be learned that there are lessons to be learned so my my friends, number one, the first gift that I

received as a result of losing my voice was this. Become far more grateful. Become more

grateful. Wife, children, family, freedom, faith, community, work that matters, sunshine, hot coffee,

cold beer, life. Every day I begin by giving thanks

for the undeserved and endless gifts present in my life, but I doubt I've ever even considered

my voice as something for which I am supremely grateful. I went months without a voice as a child in hospital.

I've lost it several times as an adult due to laryngitis.

And even still, even still, I take my voice for granted.

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