"It seems to me that insecurity or confidence do not necessarily mean anything about you or me. And that conflict, internal or external also does not mean I am not doing well? And we will, out of habit, anyway personalize everything that goes on inside and outside us.
But joy, trust in a sense of rightness when in touch with the ‘still small voice’ within is for sure much more aesthetically preferable. In what way might it also matter whether or not we trust 'the still, small voice' within?" A.G
You bring up a very interesting, subtle and complex question.
My starting point is maybe a little different from yours: if I've understood you rightly you say these various experiences – conflict, insecurity, confidence, joy etc. are not necessarily indicators of whether we are doing well or not. For me though the key issue is not about doing or not doing well. The key issue as I see it is understanding the difference and discriminating between the personal narrative self and the unchanging, ever-present ground of Being/Self/Awareness, in order to come to a recognition of our true nature/identity.
I agree with you completely that the various experiences of conflict, insecurity, confidence, joy etc. 'don't necessarily mean anything about you or me', but what is our relationship to this 'experiencing entity/personal self'? Are we identified with it as the truth of who we are, or are we the 'timeless knowing Self', aware of the constant ever-changing movement of experience of the personal self?
'The 'still small voice' you mention is not part of the experiencing entity/personal self. It is not an experience like confidence/joy/insecurity. It is our own Being/Self making itself known amidst the almost continuous distractions of the personal self (thought, feeling, sensation). The reason this still small voice matters and is so important is that it is the doorway to (and is not other than) our very own Self.