Nourishment.
Without it we sicken.
All our three aspects need it: body, mind, soul.
Without our three aspects, we’re not whole.
We’re a fragment of who we might be.
The body is nourished by clean air, good food, fresh water, regular exercise. When it sickens it needs specific remedies, Good health needs regular nourishment.
The mind is nourished by good conversation, new ideas, discovery, learning and the discipline of rigorous enquiry..
And the soul?
How do we nourish the soul?
Too often we ignore it. We assume, like an uncared for child, it’ll find sufficient scraps to survive.
We pay too little attention to nourishing the soul. We ignore its unease. We focus on career, income, status, material goods, popularity, ambition, duty. We ignore the nagging dissatisfaction that grips us when we face returning to work from a break. We forget the curious sense of relief we experienced in pandemic times, when everything, temporarily, stopped.
That unease is dis-ease of the soul.
It’s like hunger or thirst telling us our body telling needs nourishment .
It’s like boredom or mental dullness reminding us our mind needs nourishment.
It’s our soul telling us it’s withering. It needs real, healthy, full-spectrum nourishment (warning: there are many companies seeking to sell you 2-D soul-nourishment – brief dopamine hits that leave you feeling emptier than ever, when the initial surge of satisfaction has worn off. Soul-nourishment is something we do, not something we can buy off-the-shelf).
How do we feed the soul?
Through the body.
Through the mind.
We feed it by bypassing body and mind, and connecting with life.
We create – losing ourselves in writing, dancing, painting, embroidery, playing music, or any of an infinity of creative pursuits.
We connect with nature – allowing the borders between human and more-than-human dissolve, rediscovering our true place immersed in the world.
We contemplate or meditate – looking to the universe within, or outward to a vision of a god or universal spirit.
We embrace the wonder and awe of ‘not-knowing’ – listening to birdsong, looking at the stars, wondering what the world is like to a bat or a cat or an earthworm.
We feed the soul by inviting the ego to move aside, and becoming present with life.
We return enriched, satisfied, nourished..
We are complete.
What do you do to nourish your soul?
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I help you cure soul-sickness through creative transition.
Thirty years a writer, composer, painter, director & performer.
For coaching & conversation – be in touch
I recently published a short series of articles about putting creativity at the heart of daily life. I’d love you to get hold of a copy:
subscribepage.io/everydayencouragement
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