How Goes It With Your Soul?

How Goes It With Your Soul?

How goes it with your soul? That's the question my friend Peggy Dyson would ask me each time we spoke.  It always took me a moment to consider before my answer would emerge.  Which was just exactly what she hoped for. Prior to working in hospice, Peggy was an associate minister of the United Methodist Church. John Wesley, the joint founder of the Methodist movement in the Church of England, used this question two centuries ago when his followers met in small gatherings. 

We measure our lives in all kinds of ways—the hours we work, the salary we earn, our children’s successes, the number of days we workout, our titles, and the letters after our name. Businesses and organizations focus on "best practices" or "quality control. But how often do we assess the most important relationship in our lives, our relationship with our soul, our spirit, or our highest and best selves?

My friend Peggy taught me how to pay attention to my soul, and the importance of “being” rather than always “doing”.  Admittingly, I need reminding of this from time to time. Peggy lived her life according to her God’s plan, being present in each moment and keeping her soul in good order. She never wavered from that goal.

When I was going through a particularly difficult time in my life, I took up watercolor painting. For a few hours a week, it was a joy to trade in my pain and worry for a paintbrush, a jar of water, and some colors and allow the alchemy that would come out of my abandon. Abstract beauties of color that somehow represented my spirit.

A couple of years ago, my pal Peggy died of a sudden heart attack. One moment she was going to the store and the next moment she was gone.  Even in my sorrow, I knew Peggy Dyson was fine because she kept her soul in good order. She always paid attention to the things that really mattered: her faith, her service to others, her joy, and her simple pleasures of laughing with friends and family, playing the guitar and singing, reading, volunteering and silently supporting those in need.

Years ago, Peggy and I created a beautiful gift book titled “How Goes It With Your Soul: Simple Truths To Live By”. She created the quotes, and I created the watercolors. It was an act of joy for us both, allowing our souls to soar.

So, I ask you: “how goes it with YOUR soul today?”

Love and Light,