Perhaps, oftentimes, in our nescient experience on earth, in an infinitely expanding universe, we may feel alone. As such, it may be quite typical to seek a tutelary presence, beseeching a sign, especially in times of hardship.
Devoid of poetic jargon, what I mean is, when things get hard, we usually implore a Higher Authority for some sort of evidence that we can correlate to a promise of redemption.
Even amongst the agnostics, this cultural norm holds true—the cynic still holds tight to hope even in the face of demise. And what is hope? Some ephemeral, formless guarantee of salvation?
In the case of both the devout and skeptic alike, the consciousness (in times of turmoil) becomes hypervigilant for uncommon indications, symbols, signals, marks, omens, or hints. But when were we taught to only look for God in the clouds, in the thunder and lightning, in loud displays of grandiosity? What of catching God on the whisper?
It is my experience that The Divine begins fellowship with us gently and quietly. It goes something like this: before the literal prayer is spoken, you may have a feeling that equates to: “I want to be financially free, travel the world, and have a career where I add love to people’s lives…” Then, Sanctity responds with a gentle whisper: “You should write a book…” Now, this isn’t some externally auditory answer; it’s more like a very small, almost illegitimate thought that pops up somewhere between your subconscious and conscious mind. The issue here is that most of us, quite simply, ignore this seemingly trivial thought.
Now, if you’ve ever been human, you may know all too well that whenever you have one of those small, optimistically positive thoughts like that, the mind can come out of nowhere like an overbearing parent barging into a room and snatching the phone out of their grounded kid’s hand because they weren’t supposed to be texting friends—effectively quelling any hope of that seed blossoming.
The mind will go on to remind you of all the ways things can go wrong, how much work it’ll be, and every other bridge you’ll have to cross before you even get there. So, of course, because the whisper is gentle and small, you pay no heed to it in favor of the loud denial.
Alternate ending: Let’s say you listen to the small voice that tells you to write a book. You ultimately begin writing a self-help book or even an empowering fantasy story. Yeah, it takes time and effort, but you finish it.
You begin to reach out to publishing houses. Nonetheless, lo and behold, a publisher picks up your book. Not only do they give you a publishing deal, but they also ask you if you have any other ideas and explain that they’ll finance and market your other projects as well. Because of your book and its success, you improve your financial situation, you travel a lot more, and you get to share not only your writing but also your personal success story with countless other people who are banking on some ephemeral, formless guarantee of salvation—prayers answered.
Realistically speaking, people usually don’t get that kind of outcome for their first book, but, also realistically speaking, it happens.
More importantly, even if you only sell 100 copies, because of the work you completed, you’ll be offered a myriad of different opportunities: from meeting people to traveling to places you’ve never been before and going to events you would have never thought you’d ever participate in.
Consequently, as a result of your many varying interactions, you may talk to someone who offers you a job or opportunity that leads you to another opportunity that walks you through the door of your prayers being answered. In that case, I have a personal, tangible story to support this claim of how the Almighty works.
“Silence is where The Divine dwells.”
I had just come back home to Beaufort from living in Los Angeles after a tumultuous breakup. I thought I had hit rock bottom. I had just turned 30 years old, and I was back at my parents’ house—every bit of the social media maxim “brokie.” For those of you who don’t know what that is, a “brokie” is a man or woman with no sense of financial well-being, effectively a “scrub,” as so endearingly described by ’90s R&B/pop group TLC in the song “No Scrubs.” Nonetheless, I still was equipped with the mental fortitude to understand that this particular stasis in life that I had found myself in was a direct result of my very own cyclical degradations. Something had to change.
Up until this point in my life, I had regarded happiness and fulfillment as the continued conquest of money, pretty girls, and my hopes of obtaining a Lamborghini. But when I went through a breakup or I was in a financial trough, so to speak, I was filled with anxiety and depression, seeking a tutelary presence, beseeching a sign for the highway exit to deliverance. I didn’t want to live like that—having my peace dependent on externally transitory conditions. So, I asked an internal question, as I do so much of the time, aimed at The Divine Consciousness:
How do you cultivate such a place of peace within yourself that the changing conditions of the external world have no effect on you?
And so, very subtly and deliberately, life began to show me the way to this place of immovable inner peace. And again, very subtly and deliberately, I had a stagnant feeling that said: “You should share this with others.” So, I wrote a book called The 30 Day Guide to Inner Peace.
Because I finished the book, I needed an editor. Because I had an editor, she offered me a guest spot on her column in Lowcountry Weekly after reading my work. Because I had that spot, I got to write my first piece entitled The Accountability Monster, which was a hit. Because my first article was received so well, I was asked to come onto the column full-time. Because I was writing these spiritually based pieces on the importance of going within, and because I had a book about inner peace, I had to be the poster child of “unbothered.” Because I had to be vigilant of my internal states, I knew I had to address internal discomfort with solutions. Because I was solution-oriented, I decided to speak to Beaufort City Council members about employee parking downtown instead of just being a sourpuss about unfairness.
Ultimately, I kept going to meetings. I started doing research. I formed relationships. I became a steward. And eventually, I decided to run for Beaufort City Council.
Would I have ended up at the same address if I took a different route? Perhaps. However, all along the way, I made countless important connections that led me to this particular space that’s so far from that TLC muse that came back from LA, all because I listened to a very small, almost illegitimate thought.
Now ask yourself, how many small, almost illegitimate recurring whispers have you had? Maybe it’s: “I should start working out more.” Perhaps you keep hearing the murmur that says: “You should eat better.” It’s conceivable that you’ve heard: “You should write a book,” or “You should move,” or “This relationship isn’t working for you,” or “You should call and apologize.”
Whatever it is that you’ve prayed for, know that it is yours; there is just a path that you must take to get there, and that path begins with a small, seemingly unimportant step. If you can catch God on the whisper, you won’t be waiting forever for Him to part the Red Sea.
