“Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness. And they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy… or they become legend.”                                                             -Jim Harrison

 Many moons ago, I remember asking my psychology professor if people considered by others to be “crazy” knew they were crazy or if they just went through their days in a blissful state of unawareness that something might be amiss. He scratched his chin and told me it was a good question. He said that he felt it probably depended upon the person and the situation, so he didn’t actually have an answer.

It’s a question I’ve pondered many times since then, perhaps because I’d realized from the get-go of my life here that I didn’t appear to think about or respond to things in a manner quite like others.

Was I “crazy”?

From the time I first heard the inner voices quote articulated by One Stab in one of my favorite movies,  Legends of the Fall, it became a go-to.

I identified so profoundly with Tristan and his- as I refer to mine, inner beast. 

“I think it was the bear, growling inside him. Making him do bad things. Nothing that Tristan did was truly his own fault. It was the bear.”-One Stab )

In my estimation, Tristan felt deeply, loved purely, and his behavior suggests an intense inner calling as a protector. While his intentions may have been good, he was well aware and sometimes unsettled by the fact that at times the methods prompted by this protectiveness may have been questionable.

Hand raised. Been there.

And don’t let physical appearances deceive you. An unchecked rageful energy emanating from a person of any size or gender is a dangerous uncontrolled force that once initiated can wreak unfathomable damage.

Rapidly.

It became necessary for me to train the muscle within that recognized that it was unacceptable to use this force against another. PERIOD.

I got Tristan. I understood what it was to feel so intensely that the physical side of myself could not “keep up” with the volcano of emotion that burned within, often causing eruptions that were not easily understood or even acceptable as far as who I desired to be and what I wanted to model as a human being.

I got wanting to do better by those I loved and eventually I recognized that my need to learn and train in the methods to “quiet the bear growling inside” would require a journey.

Amidst a plentitude of other journeys that multiply and continue…

Through the years, the inner voices quote has become my personal empowerment affirmation, boosting me during the many moments when listening to my inner voice meant forfeiting the acceptance and/or understanding of others.

Leaning into the core belief that something more powerful is at work in my life and it’s SPEAKING TO ME, gave me the wherewithal to relinquish the need to be understood by others in order to gain access to a greater understanding of myself.

Ultimately leading me to a greater understanding of others.

I invite you to benefit from what I have been shown about YOU.

You see, it isn’t just “some people” that have the ability to hear their own inner voices with great clarity. It’s an ability that every person aspiring to can access and utilize. Like a muscle requiring training, that inner voice is there for you, just waiting to be tapped into, strengthened, and exercised.

Perhaps you can’t hear it over the din of the influences and environment you have surrounded yourself in.

Maybe you’ve sensed it, but were afraid of where listening to it may lead you.

Step back and reassess.

Take your time, quieting yourself and your mind as you first listen to and consider what you’re being told.

You are OFF the clock. Time is inconsequential. Ease yourself in as you’re led.

Journeys will unfold in the manner they’re divinely intended.

The legend that is you is already in motion.