The Voice Within

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and beard trimmed. As the barber got to work, they began to talk about this and that. When the conversation turned to matters spiritual, the barber declared: “I don’t believe God exists.”

“And why do you say that?” asked the customer.

“Well, you just have to go out in the street and look around. Tell me, if God did exist, would there be so many miserable people going about their lives? Would there be abandoned children begging out there? I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow such things!” the barber exclaimed.

The customer thought for a moment, but chose not to reply. Why start an argument that would never end? After paying the money, just as the customer was leaving the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, dirty hair and straggly beard.

The customer turned back and said to the barber: “You know what? I just realized barbers don’t exist either!”

“How can you say that? I am here, I am a barber, and I just worked on you!”

“No! Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with unkempt hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”

“Well, that’s what happens when people don’t come to me,” the barber snorted.

“That’s the point! God, too, does exist. It is because people do not look to God for guidance that there’s so much pain and suffering in this world,” the customer concluded.

But where does one look for God? It is a search which could lead the seeker to look within...

A wise woman traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met an old traveler who was hungry, and opened her bag to share her food. The traveler saw the precious stone and asked for it beseechingly. She gave it to him without a second thought.

The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for what remained of his life. But a few days later, he was back.

Returning the stone to the woman, he said: “I have been thinking. I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious.”

“And what is that?” asked the woman, mystified.

“Give me that within you which enabled you to give me this stone,” said the traveler, bowing deeply.

Sometimes it’s not the wealth one has, but the light within that others need.

— the harbinger