Everyday maintenance
of the Soul
What does it mean to care for your soul? Care of the soul is
the constant practise of bringing loving attention to the problems, conflicts,
and longings of our lives. Emotional suffering is something to be attended to,
not split off from. We can learn to read our life as a story, rather than as a
clinical case. Moreover, if the story we have been telling ourselves is a
melodrama or tragedy, we need to rewrite the story. Every human life, when seen
from the perspective of the unrelenting Divine Mercy, is the story of grace
unfolding. Love is revealing itself in the precise details of each human life,
if only we do not impose the script of self-pity, bitterness, and fearfulness. The
soul is where the divine attributes of God may be awakened from their latent
state to be integrated into our character. These qualities are the soul’s
natural inheritance from the Divine. It is through communion with the Divine
that the soul takes on the spiritual attributes of kindness, generosity,
courage, forgiveness, patience, and freedom…
The soul is a knowing substance that knows the Reality
beyond time and space. To acquire this kind of knowing is to become
illuminated, to be connected to a greater intelligence that will guide every
step of your life. Instead of living in fear and uncertainty, you will more and
more be able to trust the unfolding of Life.
The work of the soul is the greatest satisfaction in life.
It is a long journey with many stages of realization. If you want to know how
close you are to living the life of the soul, simply ask yourself: How much of
my life energy is devoted to complaining about my circumstances, blaming others
for my own unhappiness, controlling others to achieve my desires, deceiving others
to make myself look good, or promoting myself? The remedy for all these
spiritual diseases is the same: contact with your true inner being, which is a
reflection of the Divine.
After all is said and done, after all our spiritual
practices and all the esoteric knowledge that might be acquired, the real
measure of soulfulness is simply the degree of our humility, gratitude,
patience, and love.
Living Presence
Kabir Helminski
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