The Truth of the Whisper

It’s so loud –
all the noise –
and it comes from every direction.
Louder and louder
it comes 
rousing me from even the slightest inclination to rest. 

“There’s no time.”
“That’s not enough.”
“There’s more to be done.” 

The chanting is incessant.
I feel it reverberating in my bones – preventing me from taking pause.
I feel it echoing in my mind – preventing me from finding rest. 

“You’ve got to keep up.”
“You’ve got to get ahead.”
“You’ve got to push through.”
“This is what you have to do.”
“There’s so much more, don’t stop now.”
“This is just the way it is.” 

STOP! 

It ceases. It quietens. For once, it is still. 

In the silence, I gaze lovingly upon my tired, burdened heart, and I whisper, 

“You are enough.” 

That one whisper has the capacity to change my entire course. 

And it does- 

but I need to continuously block out all the noise
because the world is loud
the world is noisy
the shouting is incessant. 

But that whisper-
Oh, that soft, sweet whisper-
it, too, calls out to me
ever reminding me
ever encouraging me
ever assuring me
that what I am
and who I am
is set. It is constant. It is not negotiable or conditional.
What I am
and who I am
is Enough. Worthy. Deserving. Loved.
Regardless of anything else that is shouted at me. 

And so I choose which voice I will listen to. 

I will not harken to the shouting and the jeering.
I will not concede the chanting of the crowd.
Instead, I will quiet my racing, tired heart.
I will attune my overwhelmed, burdened mind.
I will seek the stillness that replenishes and restores my soul. 

And I will bask in the truth of the whisper.