431. The Voice That Speaks

The voice that is desired is not the voice that speaks. The voice that is desired confirms our self-knowledge and conforms to our existing understanding of the world. The voice that speaks ignores our expectations and counters our beliefs with difficult truths. The voice that is desired takes us on a pleasing journey along worn and familiar paths. The voice that speaks drags us through the mud and deposits us in some unknown place. The voice that is desired comforts us as a parent comforts a child. The voice that speaks disturbs us and says what must be said. The voice that is desired confirms our innocence and misfortune. The voice that speaks implicates us in wrongs we have unknowingly committed. The voice that is desired showers us in praise and approval. The voice that speaks questions our efforts and doubts even our most cherished values. The voice that is desired tells us that our choices were certainly the right ones. The voice that speaks reminds us of uncertainty and demands that we make an effort to understand what is truly good. The voice that is desired offers us a guarantee of our personal salvation. The voice that speaks tells us we are far from being saved because our actions regularly fall short. The voice that is desired shows us the truth gently and grants us respite when it becomes too much to accept. The voice that speaks offers no escape, only the unmitigated truth, always and without end. The voice that is desired allows us to remain as we are and requests only that we enjoy its satisfying words. The voice that speaks is itself an endless demand for us to see our reality and to grow into more. The voice that speaks is not the voice that is desired.