Soul care

I have been doing some thinking about the soul. I am realizing how little my soul was tended to in the faith practices I have been involved in, as well as how little I have tended my own soul.

I would describe the soul as that energy inside each of us that seeks mystery, and admission to the sacred. It is connection to the divine, connection between people, and our connection to our environment. The soul is the part of us that connects us to life.

What I have found missing in what I have observed of the neo-evangelical movement is connection. The message of heaven is much like a 401K program. When you receive Jesus as your personal savior, following their prescibed ritual, you are assured heaven which is where your soul goes, according to them, when you physically die. The only reason to associate with those outside the faith, is to give them the information that will enable them to start their own celestial 401k plan. Otherwise the "faithful" stay cloistered from the outside world. They are encouraged to focus on passion and devotion for God with their souls as inaccessible as the money from a retirement plan.

They struggle to see how the degrading of the environment is their concern as they don't access their soul to connect with it. They are completely disconnected from where their food comes from. They trust the USDA to let them know if they should be concerned. They have no connection to the animals and produce that sustains them. They remain ignorant of the conditions of the laborers who struggle to provide them with the things they consume. Some of this is a result of living in this time period and in American culture. Where their souls are connected to is their heavenly 401k program that they believe is earning rewards for every good deed they do.

And ironically, the further we move into this line of thinking the more disconnected we are from God, the world around us, and ultimately ourselves.

I confess that I am that person as well. My soul is rusty from inactivity, and soul substitutes have crept in, creating erosion. My soul needs tending to, it needs nourishment. I am on a restoration path. I am seeking a greater connection to creation, and to my life. Most importantly I am seeking a greater connection to my creator.