Listen to the Whisper

Listen to the Whisper 

Katie Small 

As a teacher I am always looking for ways to inspire my students.  When planning an assembly, I stumbled across Steven Spielberg’s video, ‘Listen to the Whisper’. It was exactly the perfect message I wanted to share with my Year 13 students as they were about to embark on their futures after high school.  Their exams were over and I wanted to inspire them to think about the future they really wanted.  In the video Spielberg mentions that dreams always come from behind us.  Our true calling sneaks up on us.  This is our true purpose in life.  In the video Spielberg encourages us to ‘listen to the whisper’.  He acknowledges that this is the hardest thing for us to do as we navigate our way through life. As humans we have a great sense of intuition, yet we often fail to follow and trust our instincts despite our instincts intuitively guiding our path in this world.  

If you are fortunate enough to hear the whisper, don’t ignore it.  Pay attention when that little voice speaks in your ear.  Notice that the voice never goes away for long, it returns to you over and over for a reason.  This is your true calling and you need to grab it with both hands.  Consider how many people go through their whole lives without ever finding their purpose.  The majority of people succumb to a life of mediocrity, don’t you be one of them.  Always dream big and aspire to be more, to have more and to do more.   Spielberg listened to his whisper and he knew instantly that he didn’t have a choice.  Making films was what he had to do for the rest of his life.  Imagine what we would have missed out on had Spielberg failed to listen to his whisper. No West Side Story, no ET, Jaws or Jurassic Park, no Indiana Jones movies for us to devour and no Schindler’s List teaching us of the atrocities and heroes of war. Imagine the world if this man didn’t listen to his whisper.  Now, imagine the world if you don’t listen to yours. 

What is the little voice in your head telling you?  Do you have a big idea, a way to make the world a better place?  If the answer is yes, do something about it.  Find a way.  Life is short.  It will be better to get to the end of your life and say, ‘at least I tried’, rather than realising that fear got the better of you.  Today, I tell all the young people I work with to listen to the whisper.  If we all did that, imagine how much better the world would be.  People would be embarking upon great adventures and learning along the way.  People would be creating their ideas and helping people to live better lives as a result.  What’s your idea? 

"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." -- Steve Jobs

Scientists have claimed the gut as our second brain.  This revolutionary breakthrough is enabling us to understand the links between digestion, mood and overall health, not to mention how we think.  Scientists have termed this the Enteric Nervous System (ENS). It lines the gastrointestinal tract from the oesophagus to the rectum and may help us to understand the term, ‘trust your gut’ a little more.  It seems that our gut communicates with the brain and vice versa.  We have to learn to pay attention to our bodies as they have a distinct way of letting us know when things are right for us or not.  Some of the most successful people in the world today are more likely to trust their gut when making big decisions.  Richard Branson would rely more on his gut instinct than huge amounts of statistics and Oprah Winfrey stated that throughout her whole life she has listened to the small voice that guides her path and the only time she made mistakes was when she failed to listen.  

Listen to your whisper and dream big.  Life is not for mediocracy, as Marianne Williamson says,  

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

― Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"