Pat Taub
In today’s frantic world, inner peace can feel unattainable, but it’s not all that elusive if you practice soul care. Living soulfully involves developing practices that lead to a life of integrity and deep meaning.
When your soul come alive, your world lights up, transporting you to another dimension.
You feel one with the universe. You experience joy. You are at peace.
I experience a soulful state when I create a bouquet from my garden, re-engage with a long-lost friend, listen to Mozart, take a solitary walk on country roads, or join in a peace action.
Soulful time in nature, personified by the late French director, Agnes Verda photographed dancing on the beach
A proponent of soul work is Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest, who promotes soul care in his book, “Falling Upward,” where he insists that the primary task for our later years is to tend to the soul. Rohr frames soul work as “the sacred dance.”
Father Richard Rohr discussing soul work.
The sacred dance is one where you plunge into your deeper self, dispensing of ego to experience a connection with the world’s humanity. It can take courage to shed the superficial aspects of your life in favor of what really matters. This honest exploration can lay the groundwork for living one’s later years in peace and harmony.
I imagine the sacred dance as de-cluttering my life of negatives, comparable to the approach advocated by Marie Kondo in her best seller, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” where she recommends sorting through one’s belongings and discarding anything that doesn’t bring you joy.
Contemplating what gives meaning to her life
Applying the Kondo analogy, I have tried to sever contact with negative people who clearly are not joy carriers. When it comes to family I can’t readily disconnect from grumbling relatives, but I can set limits, letting them know I can’t accept their anger and walking away, if necessary.
It’s not always easy to recognize how I cramp my soul. Here’s where journaling, a spiritual practice, and good friends can make a difference. Journaling often clarifies why I’ve overreacted to someone or what drives my anxiety. A spiritual practice includes daily meditation, where I try to quell my ego with a focus on a kindness and gratitude practice towards adding to a more soulful world. Random acts of kindness become paramount. Working for world peace is often a focus.
Close friends who are kind and compassionate are an invaluable resource when hard times hit. Their loving energy makes me think of them as soul angels. I try to reciprocate by serving as soul angels for others in need.
Wanting to make the concept of soulful experiences more concrete, I asked several friends to describe the soulful moments in their lives.
Here’s what they said:
“Walking on the beach early in the morning when it’s deserted; working in the garden; listening to Bach; visiting an art museum; laughing with close friends; wearing my mother’s pearl necklace, a cup of tea; finding inspiration in Buddhist writings, joining a peace and justice cause.”
A cup of tea can feel soulful
I asked the same friends how often they had these soulful experiences. Without exception, they all said, “Not enough.” Why is it if we know what makes our souls sing, we don’t try to bring these experiences to the forefront of our lives?
To stay on track, I find it helpful to surround myself with inspiring writings that remind me of the importance of soul care. These words by Mary Oliver are pinned on the bulletin board next to my desk. When I read them, my soul springs into action:
When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it is over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.
