MUSINGS
The Nature of Soul Work
What is soul work? And why is this work important?
This work, this soul work, this nature-based transformational work is truly an inviting field of sanity and hope in a world of fear and confusion. As I witness the world I’m aware of a certain tenor of groundlessness in the field…at times a kind of aberrant behavior that is explosive and off-base and often terrifying. Or a dull and lifeless drudgery that some people feel caught in, unable to change. In my world I experience this as a reaction to a loss of attunement to meaning and to a sense of purpose. When we don't know ourselves as anything more than simply an ego, we can get lost.
When I was introduced to this particular kind of soul work, I found myself especially grateful for its base in nature and inside of natural systems. These are worlds that I trust inherently. The natural world is the place in which I most experience myself belonging.
Soul work is fundamentally an aspect of building a healthy human ecosystem on Earth….it is based on a premise that each human being has a particular niche to fill and if we all identify and fill that niche, that our world would be a healthier place to be. We would live in a soul-centric world. It is edge work. In environmental studies we know that it is in the edges of any ecosystem that we find the most diverse and abundant life. I experience this to be true in this work as well. It is rich with new life and vitality, and its work is to underscore our unique diversity within our individual humanity. As well it is admittedly edgy; it is risky to become who we truly are!
“There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.” ~William Stafford
We all have a part to play. We bear the very human responsibility of having a particular contribution to give. This contribution is birthed from our essential nature or soul…a way of being that is unlike anyone else’s in the world…that’s how important it is! When we give ourselves permission to live that…to truly be ourselves and allow that genius to shine through, we find a sense of satisfaction that has the potential to imbue us with peace, and the world with more wholeness. Each person has to find their way to their own unique soul design and THAT is what this work is all about!
"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." ~Joseph Campbell