It has been a very long time since I have posted an article. Besides the usual fatigue and running around like a scalded cat, it has been more about a journey I have been taking. I have been going through a process of listening and learning. I haven’t felt as though I’ve had much to say. This period of time has left me thinking – in today’s hyperactive, rush around world, to which we all belong, how many of us actually get a chance to listen.
In part I am referring to listening to other people. People whose lives are often hidden behind their obvious words. Their true stories are in their eyes, their gestures and their intonations. It’s very often what they don’t say that we need to listen for, to gain a greater insight. I believe that we can only achieve this through quiet perception and undiluted listening.
I am, however, focusing more on listening to ourselves. That deep inner voice that shines a light ahead of us, lifts us up when we are struggling and encourages us to be who we are meant to be. That voice, (which can be more of a sense of knowing), is our guide, our soul, our essence. It is only in the quiet that we hear it. When our minds are clear of distraction. When time slows down enough for us to be still. The voice is always there though, whether we hear it or not. It never gives up and it never lets go. It is up to us to find the space to listen.
Having a chronic illnes gives me a lot of “quiet time” – which you would think would give me ample time to listen. It does. I don’t, however, always listen to the right voice. There are many voices inside my head competing with each other. Shouting to be heard. It can be deafening at times and I don’t think that this is unique to me. It’s not these voices I am talking about, it is the mild, gentle voice that emerges silently from the soul.
For me, when I hear this voice, I am calmed. I find a peace that the cacophony of sound in my brain cannot even attempt to give me. I am lifted to a place beyond everything else that normally seems so important. I discover a guide. A true guide. One that knows so much more than that which appears right in front of us. Much of what we see and do every day deters us from listening and the voice does not always tell us what we want to hear, but it always speaks the truth. I know it when I hear it because it is soulful and honest. It’s guidance and comfort speaks to me in a way nothing else can. I know it to be absolute.
When the voice is hard to hear and we steer the ship alone I think we often land up wrecked on the sharp, jagged rocks of life. When we listen and follow we are guided through even the most tumultuous seas gently to the shore.
So today I rest. I close me eyes and let my soul voice speak. I am carried away beyond earthly entrapment towards a sense of faith, a comfort of knowing that all is as it should be and we are never alone.
