My voice, it may surprise you to find out, I have on occasion hoarded to myself. I understood intuitively as a small child that my voice was a gift—not a gift in the sense of a talent, but a gift because it was divinely given, just like anybody else’s: the voice is the mingling of the soul, the mind, and the body together, expressed through breath, which is life itself; how could any human voice not be sacred? I saw clearly that no one could demand a share of it. It was absolutely mine.
