Heard, Not Seen

Today I am grateful for the opportunity to do spoken word at Open Jam at our local brewery last evening, and for the good music my husband Darcy and I listened to for the next hour. Speaking of good music, there are often cardinals in our neighborhood, and this one is in the trees over our garage as I sit out on our front patio now.

Heard, but not seen. Like songs coming through radios in our vehicles, or the one that sat on our kitchen counter growing up. We listened to it while we washed and dried dishes, singing along. I hear a favorite oldie coming on in my car and I still often turn it up and sing along. Songs that tell the story of my life over decades. I love music and get sentimental over many tunes.

Heard, but not seen, like the voice within each of us. It is there, always. Am I listening quietly, talking over it, willfully ignoring it, or oblivious to it? On any given day, I am probably all of these things. But quiet does come more regularly. Silence doesn’t last. Quiet can. That inner voice has been telling me the story of my life over these last few decades as well. I trust and honor the story more now. The voice is kinder and gentler these days.

We often hear cardinals in our neighborhood, and I think of loved ones. Gone from their earthly presence, but not gone from our hearts and memories. I most often think of my dad and my sister Mary Jo, but there are many others I hold in my heart on any given day. The cardinals remind me to get quiet, be still, and feel the presence of a Power beyond me. A Power both seen and heard all around me in the natural world, in fellow humans, in my own heart. Pay attention. It pays back nicely.