The Still Small Voice

The woman woke to the silence of the night as she had been doing all too frequently these past few months. She noticed once more a strange heaviness and that vague, but increasingly familiar, dissatisfaction.

While the particulars vary, many of us have known such times of unease. Perhaps an unexpected event rocked the security of our world. An old wound or neglected passion may have roused after long slumber. Or this discontent might have seeped in slowly, only to be recognized when it was already in full swell.

Whatever the specifics, at these times our usual pursuits, even the pleasant ones, do not bring us the rich experience we crave. We feel incomplete, with a gnawing sense of being off kilter.

An opening has appeared.

Inquietude often arrives as a messenger, heralding a time of growth. As distressing as these occasions may be, they prod us to see, with clear eyes, the lives we have created, and they encourage us to make the adjustments that best reflect our soul's evolving sensibilities.

We may know exactly what our next step needs to be~~a shake up in our personal or professional relationships, a commitment to a deep healing, a more vibrant expression of our creativity or spirituality. Then again, we might have no clue at all~~only this restlessness and a vague yearning for something more.

Ultimately, it makes little difference whether the path before us is clear or appears as fog in a tumultuous night. We are called to follow.

A simple calling, that is all. We are not required to move. We can ignore the summons, make efforts to avoid our discomfort, try various methods to numb a screaming despair.

Many of us do refuse the call, temporarily or as a habitual approach to life. But there is a cost in doing so~~a weariness born of going through the motions of an unlived life, an existence spent in the shadows of what could be, of what we could be.

It can certainly feel frightening to walk into the unknown. However, that fear can be softened by remembering that we don't travel there alone. The messenger does not abandon us when we decide to move forward. It was ever only one guise of the Sacred that accompanies us always, particularly when we agree to enter uncharted territory.

That still small voice offers wisdom at each juncture.

How do we increase our capacity to receive and trust in this guidance? By actively turning toward it. As we engage in activities that strengthen our bond to that vast and nameless Mystery~~as we listen~~the once small voice grows stronger.

Of course our problems won't disappear, and we may have difficult work ahead of us. But as we step out of our paralysis and our fear, we allow ourselves to be lead further down our own and very unique path.

As we move deeper into ourselves, we become more fully alive. In so doing, we further our quest to become the person we are meant to be, the being we already are at our core.

Here's wishing you a small voice that grows ever stronger!

Namaste!

Loanne Marie