Feeding your soul during the pandemic can be a challenge. We have been given a lot of information about how to take care of our physical bodies during this time of the pandemic. I want to give you some ways to take care of your spirit/soul. So, I’m going to be offering some simple tools to help you take care of the inner you as you follow recommendations for taking care of your body. Last week I gave you some tips for having a peaceful soul. This week I want to give you some tips for helping your soul feel nurtured.
A Nurtured Soul
A soul that is at peace and feels nurtured is healthy and is better able to navigate times of rapid change. The input for a nurtured soul is joy and the output is kindness. When you take in joy and you act kindly towards yourself and your neighbor you soul feels nurtured.
The Input
Joy is water for your soul. It refreshes your soul just like a drink of water refreshes your body. Joy, also like water, can be cleansing for your soul. Joy refreshes and cleanses your soul. There are many ways to think about joy for your soul. Joy can slake your thirsty soul and clean it up. I like to imagine joy like a big soul transfusion that comes up from the ground, through my feet, traveling through my circulatory system and out the top of my head, showering me and everything around me including my neighbor, plants, all living things, the cosmos. In this way joy does not depend on an circumstance in your life. Joy, in this way is always present and easily accessible. Try to take a few minutes each day to connect to the systemic joy in your life.
The Output
The output or the action that we take in order for our soul to feel nurtured is kindness. Most of us have some idea about what it means to be kind to others. However, we are not as good at accepting kindness from others. Look for ways that you can be kind to your neighbor (which might be a stranger) and for ways that others are kind to you. When we are kind to others we bring refreshment to our soul and to the soul of our neighbor. When we accept the kindness of others our souls are cleansed and refreshed and we are able to move on. Be intentional about kindness given and received. It helps to take the thirstiness away.
The Result
When we take in joy and when we share kindness of ourselves and others, we are nurtured in our soul. A soul that is nurtured, much like a garden, is full of capacity to grow and to be full of life. New things can happen. Newness blooms in your soul and your soul can sense it and is open to new things. Be present to the new inside your soul.
Ponder
To have a safe and nurtured soul is easy. It only takes a few minutes during your day. The difficult part, like all practices is making time. However, during this time of social distancing many of us find that we have a little extra time. Let me hear how things are going with your soul care in the comments below.
