A lesson to learn...
Have you ever noticed that if you’re struggling with a difficult situation you will receive messages from unrelated sources that address it? For my religious friends, they refer to it as “God speaking to you.” For the non-religious, it’s “the universe” or sometimes just dismissed. It’s the feeling in your gut when you’re ill at ease in a situation; the ball of stress that emerges when you’re meeting a toxic person.
I have found that I will receive guidance in unexpected ways. The guidance is never as explicit as I would like; it’s never an email or letter saying, “this is your path. Follow it.” Instead, it’s in the form of a random snippet of conversation with a stranger; or the same subject being raised casually by unrelated people. It may be in a sermon, or a passage flipped to by chance. It most often comes through a person who makes me question myself and my certainty. It might be the person who, in the middle of my self-pity, says, “can you help with this?”
I’m the first to admit that this isn’t scientific by any means. There is no way to force a response or a direction. But the “still, small voice” that exists to guide us does speak out in strange times. We can try to ignore it, but it’s remarkably persistent. My recommendation is to get acquainted with this little voice, and learn to recognize her when she’s nudging before she has to yell.
My difficulty remains that of understanding and accepting the direction of my little voice when she tells me things that I don’t like or want to hear. But as I said, she is persistent. So over the last while I struggled with a problem of anger. I believe that on the other side of the anger is a space where I am whole, and where the splintered pieces of my life exist harmoniously. People say things to me that are well-intentioned, that come from love, but which can cause me pain. I try to control the anger that erupts when one of these innocently hurtful things occurs. Then as I was reading my daily meditation passage, there it was. “How do we answer the demanding questions in life?” The meditation went on to have me question why I had the reaction I do and things to consider. Then I was flipping through a magazine, and there was another article that spoke about reframing. And then someone (who I hadn’t spoken to for months) sent on a link about growing through challenges. With all of these, I began to face up to my reaction to these comments, and to adjust my thinking. I can’t change people’s comments, but I can change how I respond to them. It’s made a little difference, and it’s a work in progress, but at least I have a new tool.
So please, find time to listen to your little voice. It will draw you into a new space and help you to become your most shining self.
I have found that I will receive guidance in unexpected ways. The guidance is never as explicit as I would like; it’s never an email or letter saying, “this is your path. Follow it.” Instead, it’s in the form of a random snippet of conversation with a stranger; or the same subject being raised casually by unrelated people. It may be in a sermon, or a passage flipped to by chance. It most often comes through a person who makes me question myself and my certainty. It might be the person who, in the middle of my self-pity, says, “can you help with this?”
I’m the first to admit that this isn’t scientific by any means. There is no way to force a response or a direction. But the “still, small voice” that exists to guide us does speak out in strange times. We can try to ignore it, but it’s remarkably persistent. My recommendation is to get acquainted with this little voice, and learn to recognize her when she’s nudging before she has to yell.
My difficulty remains that of understanding and accepting the direction of my little voice when she tells me things that I don’t like or want to hear. But as I said, she is persistent. So over the last while I struggled with a problem of anger. I believe that on the other side of the anger is a space where I am whole, and where the splintered pieces of my life exist harmoniously. People say things to me that are well-intentioned, that come from love, but which can cause me pain. I try to control the anger that erupts when one of these innocently hurtful things occurs. Then as I was reading my daily meditation passage, there it was. “How do we answer the demanding questions in life?” The meditation went on to have me question why I had the reaction I do and things to consider. Then I was flipping through a magazine, and there was another article that spoke about reframing. And then someone (who I hadn’t spoken to for months) sent on a link about growing through challenges. With all of these, I began to face up to my reaction to these comments, and to adjust my thinking. I can’t change people’s comments, but I can change how I respond to them. It’s made a little difference, and it’s a work in progress, but at least I have a new tool.
So please, find time to listen to your little voice. It will draw you into a new space and help you to become your most shining self.
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