This week’s #WednesdayWisdom comes from Brianna West’s book The Pivot Year:
There are two rivers running through us at all times, one that carries all the voices of the world, and the other, a single voice that stands alone – the voice of our inner guide.
The first river is so strong, steady, and constant with its instruction, guidance, and forewarning; most of us live mindlessly being pulled to each milestone, each thing we were told to reach for, to move toward, to achieve. Eventually we look down and realize our hands are empty. Our lives were woven together by a storyline we didn’t write.
As we lose sight of our inner compass, a fog is cast over our awareness of the moment. We become saddled with confusion, indecision and uncertainty. We become incapable of leading ourselves because the two rivers are shouting over one another, tempting us with virtues, and repelling us with vices. Over time, we become consumed by the stiffness of trying to be what we are told, existing in contrast to the soft, effervescent truth living deep inside.
Despite how loud that first river can become, we can always hear the quiet call of the second. Our lives begin the day we choose to follow our inner knowledge, even while hearing, at times heeding, the collective knowledge of the first.
The first realization of wisdom is the recognition that there is truth fragmented everywhere, and to delineate the two rivers into wholly good and wholly bad is to deprive ourselves of the depth and beauty that our hearts are truly trying to bring about.
The journey is not about abandoning one in favor of the other, but knowing when it is time to listen, to hear, and to follow each.
Recent Comments