A Necessary Eviction

Replacing Our Destructive Inner Voice With Something Generative

A few months ago, I had a black hole in my chest and a feeling of suffocation. At any given moment, I felt as if I could start crying for no apparent reason. 

During that time, a voice began telling me that I was not a good writer. It then progressed by saying that no one cares what I have to say and that what I do is a waste of time. Finally, it told me that no one even likes me.

Believe me. I know none of that is true. But in a place of darkness, I entertained the voice to my detriment for far too long.

Have you ever experienced an inner voice that says you are not good enough? An inner voice obsessed with telling you that the things you do are a waste of time? An inner voice relentlessly trying to convince you that you are not good at all? An inner voice determined to make you feel isolated and worthless and alone? 

This voice creeps in when you are on social media. It convinces you that everyone else is living their best life, traveling the world, and having mind-blowing experiences, while you are home alone.  

This voice tells you to compare your life to those around you. It assures you that your work, your art, and your level of success and well-being are not as good as others.

This voice creates a million and one scenarios in which everyone else is getting together for meals, parties, and gatherings while you are missing out.  

This voice wants you to believe that you are alone and persuade you that there is nothing good in you.  

And this voice is happy to stay with you as long as there is an open invitation.

My experience over the last few months proved how subtle and destructive this voice is when we allow it to speak into our lives. It taught me how essential it is to nurture and care for my inner self by filling the void with something generative.

As I wrote last week, for something to grow, one must first open the soil for something to be sown.

That is why centering activities, like meditation and prayer, are so important. They open us up to receive something new, something good. They create an invitation for Divine Love to fill the dark void and replace the destructive voice.

These “interior journeys,” as Richard Rohr describes them, allow us to experience love within ourselves, maybe for the first time.

Question

1. How can you create space this week for a centering activity that allows you to experience love within yourself?

Peace,

Brandon