The Only Voice That Matters

Lately, I've been thinking there's a problem today. This problem has spread to larger and larger numbers of people as time has gone on, and it saddens me that it continues to grow. The problem I've been thinking about, is that people as a whole have lost the ability to hear the only voice that matters: their own. As our civilization advances and society becomes larger and more powerful, it holds more and more sway over a given individual's thoughts. Influence isn't a bad thing, but the issue is that it has become so strong that it's drowning out the desires of a person. This issue has, over time, moved from causing people to forget how to listen to themselves, to people no longer learning how to listen to themselves to begin with. So I would like to put something here today for those who have forgotten, for those who did not learn. I open with the following poem.

'As I look out to blue yonder,

 I lay back and quietly ponder.

 Who could tell a cloud to sit and stay?

 And who would want to anyway?'

In life, there are many influences which alter our direction, or skew our decisions, such as the wind which drives a cloud. These influences are still important to listen to, but listening doesn't necessarily mean following. It is important that we gain the knowledge which these driving forces are steering us towards. But this pulling and pushing ultimately does not matter. The universe in its grand scheme of cause and effect, has already determined all that has happened. Everything that occurs, in essence, was determined at the exact moment of creation. Understanding this causes one to question; If everything's already determined, why bother? The answer is because your desires matter too. Your desires are what pull and push you in a given direction, so that you may interact with the rest of everything. If you surrender yourself to the Universe, it is to surrender yourself to the role you are to fulfill, and this is fine. However, to surrender yourself to society is not the same. We as creatures that live are all unique, and individual. It is that uniqueness that makes listening to our own feelings and desires so important. If we do not play the role that only we can play, who else can?

But how to listen? How to tune in to the radio station of your own being? The answer is not to think, it is to feel. To understand all desire, in all form, attractive or aversive, without prejudice. To feel the happiness that wells up within, or the sadness that dampens a sunny day. To feel these things as openly and fearlessly as one can. To feel everything within you that is you, driving you towards that which matters only to you. It is this that I feel is the simplest and purest way of explaining this concept.