How’s your soul glowing these days? Have you taken time to deliberately charge up the intensity of your soul? How does one charge the soul anyway?
I have always taught that in order for your spirit or soul to truly glow, you must first develop a closer relationship with yourself and what you hold dear. Clients will argue that there’s just no time for such fluff in their busy lives. Funny how they’ll fight to scoot important “me” time to the back burner, when it’s exactly what is needed to get the soul back on track. Taking time for creative fun is vital to truly embrace life in the present. Fortunately it is a lesson I learned early in my adult life and pass along whenever I can.
The wonderful book, The Artists Way by Julia Cameron provides many simple and effective ways to nurture your precious self. The 12 week Artist Way program suggests that we all take ourselves on a special “artist date” – an hour or more to pursue something creative, interesting, entertaining or indulgent, EVERY SINGLE WEEK. Think about it – one hour out of appoximately 112 waking hours in a week is really not that much time. Are you willing to invest less than 1% of your waking life to something meaningful to your soul?
Every year, for over 15 years now I have set aside 3 days to recharge my soul in January. January is a bleak time for me because I am someone who loves plants, nature, gardening and the outdoors. Fortunate for me that another frustrated garden-lover, Libby Bruch of Quailcrest Farm set up a garden symposium held at the lovely Inn at Honey Run in Millersburg, Ohio every year in late January. When I first heard about it, I thought it sounded wonderful, but quickly dismissed the possibility. Eventually after coaxing from my mother, I finally gave in. This first 3 days away came when my kids were just 2 and 5 years old. I felf very guilty about leaving them to attend something that was completely optional – not required or necessary for my work or family. I felt even more guilty using my precious money and vacation time for this.
Yet once I took myself away – it was very clear to me that this was exactly where I needed to be. I could finally relax and be myself without the pressures of home, work and motherhood. I could connect with other gardeners and the special girlfriends who also attended the seminar. I could learn about fascinating topics that I could take home and apply to my life during the remainder of the year. After that first January getaway – the Garden Symposium was what I did every year, without question. There was no longer the guilt. It was my way of recharging my soul for the new year ahead.
How about you? How would you choose to invest some special time, even a single hour, just for yourself? Maybe you would listen to old records, bake bread, walk in the snow, create jewelry, draw, write poetry, or visit a museum? What else could you imagine enjoying?
Cast aside the guilt and see what happens to your life and your energy level when you take time to recharge your spirit. I suspect people will notice a new intensity to your glow.
