Soul Sweetness!
Our contemporary culture gets it backwards, it's focus on the outside instead of the inside. The next time you look in the mirror go further then the ruffled hair, the small blemish on the nose, the slight wrinkle around the eye, the business suit, the casual wear....I challenge you to look further. When I was young I would stand in front of the mirror and see myself, then I kept looking, who are you and why are you here? Until it would scare me inside and I would walk away, sometimes run. I didn't understand then much about a human soul and what it was made of. My concentration was on the outward world, the material world, not the immaterial world. What is the immaterial?
What a beautiful thought, our souls shaped by the hands of a living God; what is it's potential? In scripture it says the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (soul). The soul is like the soil - it has the capacity of accepting or rejecting what is put into it. It can shrivel or take root by "words". The words can be accompanied by music or left alone, they have the power to change a thought, an emotion, a reaction and a life! They have the power to change the world. Words are seed. We can taste the power of the divine in our every day choices. The choice to take in or discard. The point is YOU CAN choose!
What is the soul made of, it is made of YOU!
We will start with the mind: The mind is used for the most mundane to the most complex thinking, believing, and imagining. When I am working on a math problem, or writing, I am using my mind. Thoughts are the soul's transportation. It can propel you to places and times that trigger empathy or compassion. Thoughts are also fleeting, they come and go at a whim. As evidence backs up a thought it then becomes a belief. Unlike thoughts that are fleeting; beliefs can become long-lasting guests on our souls.
The next ingredient to our soul are those wonderful "feelings"! These feelings are often a struggle. Feelings are made of sensation and emotion. How often do we get stuck in life because of "feelings"? I want to explain the difference between the two. Sensation is like real physical pain or pleasure and Emotion is such things as fear, anxiety, anger, joy, frustration, delight, impatience, and peace. Sensations come to us through our five physical senses, sight, smell, taste, touch and sound. Sensation actually brings the material world into our soul. Feelings do in fact bring color into our lives. The smell of a flower, the soft and innocent look of a baby bird, the touch of a baby's skin, and the sound of music moves our soul. We eagerly invite these fair-weather friends into our soul and they drench us with the intensity of the moment and then leave.
It is for this reason I love photography, because it is a reflection of God. God is love....what is love it is everything around us. It is the bird singing a song, it is a baby sleeping or crying, it is the flower that blooms in all shapes, sizes and colors. It is YOU! It is the mountain in grandeur, it is the ocean wave, it is the meadow filled with daffodils! It is you with your arms stretched around your beloved. It is the kiss on the cheek, the sweet smile, the helping hand.....this is love and I want to capture every moment of it. The tear, the laughter, the light and the flight.
Desire...another element of our soul. What draws you, brings you in like an unmovable passion! Desire is an anchor in our soul that holds on to some of those fair-weather or (feathered) friends "sensation and emotion". And brings them to live in our soul. Desire is the companion that stays with us even after our feelings are gone. Wholesome desires are a life jacket in our soul, keeping us afloat during an emotional storm. It is a place to tie down to during uncomfortable feelings. Yes, an anchor.
Next time I will talk about the CEO of our soul........"The Will"
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