January: Live Life Soulfully

Late in the fall I took some pictures for my niece Holly. I'm giving Holly the most patient award because she has waited forever for me to finish. Today I was working to get them done and I couldn't help but smile when I got to this little picture. This is Holly and Marc's youngest daughter. Isn't she a doll? There is something amazing about the human soul and how it radiates from within. I think this is why I love photography. I love catching the human spirit on film.

Last year I read a book by Thomas Moore "Care Of The Soul." The book is intended to help bring greater depth and sacredness to everyday life. I found it interesting when the author stated that a spiritual life of some kind is absolutely necessary for psychological health, defining the care of the human soul as a sacred art. When I edit pictures like this one, it isn't hard to see the sacredness in each individual soul and I know as I experience life with greater spirituality my life takes on deeper meaning and brings me greater happiness.

The emotional complaints of our time, complaints like emptiness, meaninglessness, depression, disillusionment about marriage, family, and relationships, loss of values all reflect a loss of soul. We seek after so many 'things' that we think will bring us happiness but without soul, whatever we find will soon be unsatisfying.

"Soul" then is not a thing, but a quality or dimension of experiencing life and ourselves. It has to do with depth, value, relatedness, heart, and personal substance. Soulful Living is about conscious living from the inside out to achieve deep happiness, fulfillment and to feel passionate about work, life, relationships and yourself. To utilize your talents in order to contribute something of real meaning in the world.

As I have pondered how to implement my new motto this year "Be Happy," I couldn't help but pull out my "Care Of The Soul" Book again and skim over the highlighted parts. Every time I do this I realize that the small things in everyday life are no less sacred than the great issues of human existence. Therefore in part, my challenge in being happy lies somewhat in finding the sacred in the mundane tasks that I preform over and over again each day. Life is full of mundane rituals and it isn't always easy to find the sacredness in them whereby I can feel joy.

Thomas Moore said, "The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. And when imagination is allowed to move to deep places, the sacred is revealed." I must admit the older I get the more pleasure I take in the simple tasks of making a home. For instance I love to hang clothes on the line to dry, there is something about wet fabric blowing in the wind especially in the early morning sun that is satisfying. I use to have a clothes line at my trabin and I enjoyed hanging my laundry out. Just recently I made a make shift clothes line behind my house with my dog tie out. It feels good to be creative! I'm going to put in a real clothes line I swear! Lately I've taken to washing my dishes by hand, it's methodical and for some strange reason I enjoy chopping vegetables. As I think about caring for my soul, maybe it's not really what I do but how I look upon it while I'm doing it. I think in there lies all the difference. I think this is the secret to soulful living.

To the soul, memory is more important than planning, art more compelling than reason, and love more fulfilling than understanding. Living with soul then is living from the heart not the head! Maybe that's why I loved editing this little picture of Brinley. Because I worked from the heart and in doing so found the sacred.

As I sit here editing pictures, feeling inspired by human spirits that peer at me from behind the glass, I have come to realize a great thing and that is, in my pursuit to "Be Happy" I must live each day more soulfully, searching for the sacred in all parts of life; I must live life from the heart, like Thomas Moore said, "From the inside out," even in the mundane.