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The Inner Voice

We all have an inner voice. Some of my former clients have many of them...but for the sake of this piece, we'll just deal with that one inner voice that we all seem to have.

Our inner voice rarely yells. It doesn't need to. It tells us what we should already know. My inner voice tends to be a smart ass (surprise surprise!) and cracks jokes all the time.

I had a client years ago named Albert. Albert had a significant impact on my life in many ways. He was about 60, had Down Syndrome, and for all intents and purposes, couldn't speak. He called most people "Hey Babyyyy!". He called me "Cuckoo". He knew me well, apparently.

Albert had spent a large part of his life living in institutions and state hospitals. He had family contact, just not lots of it. He learned what he learned as best he could. That said, in many ways, he was wiser than most.

One of the things that amazed me about Albert was his level of perception. I never knew Albert to go to church. His family may have taken him; I don't know. What I do know is that he recognized religious symbols. Not just Christian either. Whenever he would see a religious symbol, he would stop, get down on his knees, and pray a mumbly little unintelligible prayer.

This happened wherever we went. We could be out for a walk and he would see a nativity scene, and down to his knees he went. Same thing would happen if he saw a menorah.

One year, he and another client were at my house during the holidays. My auntie was still alive then and had invited them over for cookies and punch and a little holiday cheer...at someplace that wasn't a group home.

While here, I asked the guys if they wanted to help me trim the Christmas tree...and let me tell you, they were excited to do so! I've never been a fan of decorating the tree but if I'm with someone who does enjoy it, it makes it more fun for me.

Well, Albert and this other guy were just having a blast! They oh-so-carefully chose ornaments from one of my auntie's many boxes of them, and gingerly placed them on the tree.

Albert then noticed something. My auntie had a beautifully ornate porcelain Buddha sitting on the bottom shelf of a decorative table in the living room. Albert couldn't take his eyes off of it. Next thing we know, Albert walks over to the Buddha, gets down on his knees and does his mumbly little prayer. He knew the significance. The best I can guess, his inner voice told him what this thing was. The glowing smile he gave us afterwards told us all we ever needed to know about Albert and true faith. I believe that he understood that faith isn't about dogma or rituals or God, Allah, Buddha, or the Great Cosmic It. It is about peace and love and understanding.

Listen to your inner voice. Chances are, it's the voice of reason.

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