Think of it like this: Within you is a committee of women [or men] who represent your collective wisdom, each of whom represents an insight or side of you that is the result of the experiences you’ve had over the years. You can ignore them, but you can’t altogether silence them either.
-- Rev. Dr. Renita J. Weems from “What Matters Most: Ten Lessons in Living Passionately from the Song of Solomon”

“Should I do this thing? It feels really good to my spirit, to my heart.” “Oh, but what if it gives me grief and I end up failing and hurting incessantly?” “Well, what if it’s the greatest thing you’ve ever done and you receive one of the greatest blessings you’ve ever known?” “Yeah, but what about my family, my job, my house, and my goals? They’re important and I’ve worked hard to maintain them.” “Perhaps, just maybe your purpose will be fulfilled and your territory increased if you submit yourself to this situation.” “But what if the situation isn’t really as it should be?” “Why not go for it anyway; what can you lose?”… With all these musings about a thing, it’s no wonder it’s so hard to decide which path to choose.

So you sit with yourself, listen to all the differing voices of reason and discrimination in your head, and mull your choices over and over. You came up with an answer, but it’s entirely different than the one you chose to live on yesterday. Some would call this hemm’n and haw’n flaky. Or maybe they’d consider you an unstable and erratic thinker. Some may even say you have a split or undivided personality, which of course makes people look at you funny.

In “What Matters Most,” Dr. Weems offers that the divided voices you hear in your head serve as a chorus of inner advocates who speak up to provide recollection of your experiences, encouragement, protection, and whatever else you need to navigate through any given day or season of your life. These voices, similar to the everyday voices of your truest friends, are an internal and private caucus of sorts that speak from your very core and have great value to you. You, as the chair of the caucus, consult these voices, weigh their recommendations, then choose your best course of action. Provided these inner voices (or collection of experiences, wisdom, and hope) aren’t the product of a personality disorder or nihilistic thinking, they can serve as a sounding board that provide you with the resources and solace you need to make appropriate decisions for your life.

So, then, I wonder, does giving recognition, respect, and personification to the myriad of voices in your head free you from the guilt associated with having varied and conflicting thoughts about a thing? And, do the voices that live and speak in your head work in conjunction with the voice of God that also resides in your head, and how do you discern which is God’s voice or all your others? Or, do the voices in your head hinder or even cancel God’s voice speaking to you and make it difficult for speedy and fruitful decisions to be made?

Or do you simply consider the voices like the enemy and an angel seated on opposite shoulders whispering their separate sides in your ear? Possibly your mind does register a good side and a devil’s advocate and they work against one another in hopes of winning you over.

What are your thoughts? All of them.

Sadiqqa © 2007