The Soulful Life
photograph by Hoach Le Dinh on Unsplash
by Brian E. Pearson
I've felt it while I've been at the laptop, writing. I've felt it when in the throes of turning out a podcast. I've felt it while I've stood before a live audience, telling tales or singing one of my songs. And almost always, I've felt it while having coffee with a friend, sharing stories of our travels along the Unknown Path. It's the deep contentment of, finally, living the life I'm supposed to be living.
The soulful life sneaks up on us. It begins when we take seriously the insistent voices whispering to us from the depths, or the synchronicities that magically open doors for us (or perhaps close them), or the yearnings of our heart that will accept no compromises or substitutes. Then, it leads us by way of curiosity. "What if ..." we ask, as we take a step in the direction of those mysterious promptings.
Then, one day, having allowed each step to deliver us to the next, we are surprised to find ourselves within sight of a new destination, a possibility we could not have named, or even dreamed of. All the steps and all the roads suddenly make sense to us, as we become the person we were always meant to be and as we take up the work that was always ours to take up. Finally, we have come home ... to ourselves, to our purpose, to our unique place in the Universe. This is the soulful life.
The soulful life is infectious. Every soulful step we take is recognizable to anyone who is poised to take their next step. In this way, we become leaders and encouragers to one another, not by telling anyone what they should do with their life (how would we know?) but by demonstrating what soulfulness looks like in our own. Our awakening to our place in the world becomes the catalyst for the awakening of others. This, in the end, may be the only real purpose we've ever had: to awaken one another to the life for which we were created.
You can listen to Brian's podcast called The Soulful Life here
Brian E. Pearson
is a writer, musician, and the producer and host of the podcast, The Mystic Cave. A former Anglican priest, Brian now explores the far side of conventional religion—the contemplative side, the soulful side, the eco-spiritual side, and even the woo-woo side, where talking to trees, writing sacred poetry, and summoning the dead may be the new normal.
He received his training in spiritual direction through Jubilee in one of the earliest programs offered in Ontario, 1993/94, with Donald Grayston and Susanne Decrane.
Visit Brian's website here.
