Really, don't put off asking yourself these questions
…now a great and strong wind was crushing mountains and smashing boulders in the presence of The Holy One—
The Holy One was not in the wind;
and after the wind, an earthquake—
The Holy One was not in the earthquake;
וְאַחַ֤ר הָרַ֙עַשׁ֙ אֵ֔שׁ לֹ֥א בָאֵ֖שׁ יְהֹוָ֑ה וְאַחַ֣ר הָאֵ֔שׁ ק֖וֹל דְּמָמָ֥ה דַקָּֽה׃
and after the earthquake, fire—
The Holy One was not in the fire;
but after the fire,
a still, small voice. ~Kings I 19: 11-12
There are several places in our texts that the curtain is gently pulled back for just a tiny bit, enough for us to begin to comprehend the enormity of what the Divine Essence* might be like. The notion of The One of All, perceived as a still, small voice is exceptionally beautiful.
What does it mean for us that amidst all the noise, the wind, the shattering, the crushing and smashing….after all that…what there is, is a still, small voice —a kol d’ma’ma daka - ק֖וֹל דְּמָמָ֥ה דַקָּֽה׃?
What does it mean to ‘hear’ the voice of YHVH? Do we really think that people walk around hearing voices?
Oddly enough, I came to a different understanding of what it means to ‘hear’ an Other Wordly voice after reading about the experiences of Christian evangelicals. From what I understood after reading their accounts, the voice you hear is within you, an inner part of your own soul. It is that still, small voice that only comes with quiet, after the storm of life allows you to perceive it.
When I look at my life through this lens, when facing some potentially big, life-altering decisions, it was this voice that guided me. I know now that it was not ‘my voice’ but my openness to hearing the deeeper part of me.
In our [forgive me here] arrogance, we think it was us all along. Yup, it was me that chose this, or did this. All me.
What if your paradigm was different? What if you looked at your own life through the lens of the spiritual? What might you learn about yourself? The challenges you’ve had and met? Your soul? Your innate nature?
What can your inner voice teach you, if you spent some time listening?