Soul Care

In a world that labels self-care as selfish, or a waste of time, we have to fight the inner voices that try to convince us that we don’t deserve to spend time tending to our own souls. We say things like, “There are so many other things I could be doing for others… So many other things I need to be accomplishing.” But these, in fact, are inhospitable thoughts toward your own life. And if we cannot welcome our own inner being into times of refreshment and revitalization, how can we offer it to others?   If a friend asked to talk to you about how weary or scattered or stressed their life had become, would you respond with, “You shouldn’t be thinking about that when there is so much more you can accomplish.” Of course not! So why do we erect such roadblocks to hospitality within our own souls? 

Take time to look at the areas of resistance or roadblocks as you welcome yourself into the dialogue of your inner being.  How have you deflected the care and attention that your heart may be seeking? Write down the negative, inhospitable messages that surface in your mind. Trace the origin of such messages in your life. What do these voices sound like? Now, rather than trying to make them go away, simply invite them to take a back seat and to sit quietly while you begin to develop a new message, a new attitude, a new posture toward welcoming yourself into the loving presence of the Divine, and as you make your way forward in conversation with others, or with your spiritual director. Write down your new message of welcome over the top of the old inhospitable messages you just wrote down.  And then write the new message again on a fresh page in your journal. Seal it with this prayer adapted from Ephesians 4::16-17.

I pray that I may be strengthened in my inner being with power through the Spirit, and that Grace and Truth may dwell in my heart through faith, as I am being rooted and grounded in love. Amen.