Music was within me, I was full of it – Lata Mangeshkar

It is a sad passing for someone so special – a Bharat Ratna and many more accolades that decorate her. But I just wanted to pay respects through a powerful Lata Mangeshkar quote – Music was within me, I was full of it. You can find more about Lata Mangeshkar in the article dedicated to her achievements.

It is a call for all of us to look within and hear the inner voice which keeps telling us something. Sometimes, it can be a cause while some other times, it is a yearning for purpose. There is something within which keeps calling us to do something about it. Let’s call it the inner voice for the time being.

This inner voice is trying to burst out into action – and in all possible ways, asking us to create a channel for it. Perhaps this quote is a call for one such action and to question – are we doing justice to our inner voices?

Music was within me, I was full of it – Lata Mangeshkar

It is indeed a powerful quote because this inspires me to think about the music within me. I can confidently say that I’m a terrible singer, but there was always a yearning to write and be inspired or perhaps even be inspiring to some extent. As the desire continues, I must admit that I’ve swerved in my path with new shiny things.

They have distracted me from what I feel for the strongest and find my inner joy or passion in. I don’t want to be going on a rant but just to tease you with a question – what is your inner voice? What is your inner music telling you to do?

And most importantly, what are you doing about it? Distractions are perhaps natural and maybe even easy because they attract us. But the inner voice needs work and demands constant nurture and attention. Naturally, it fizzles out if we don’t do anything about it.

Listening to inner voice

Now, to the all-important question – how to listen to the inner voice. I love this phrase by Lata Mangeshkar – Music was within me – it was never the external circumstances. Sure, I’m paraphrasing here, but perhaps it is not about the external circumstances with us also.

There will always be these reasons and challenges. Sometimes, they are real and well justified too. But the inner voice, demands work. It is there for a reason. The least we can do about it is listen and find out what it is telling us. Maybe we make a mistake in interpreting this voice, but still, we ought to hear it out. (Related: How to listen to your inner voice)

What does your inner voice manifest as? For some, it is a constant nagging feeling, a sense of dissatisfaction. Sometimes, it is a source of energy too that makes you happy and feel alive from within. I feel that sometimes we get so good at masking our desires that we tend to ignore this inner voice. But there’s a sense of beauty, passion and persuasion to it. Maybe the best thing we can do is just listen and then later figure out what it might mean to us.