Monday, June 23, 2008

NURTURING OUR SOUL

Nurturing Our Soul:Major(R)Khalid Nasr

When I think of nourishing the soul, I think of nurturing the ability to respond positively to life —---the ability to sustain passion for our interests, values, and projects. I believe that the worst of all spiritual defeats is to lose enthusiasm for life’s possibilities.
Every life has its share of setbacks and disappointments -- of tragedy and loss. So the question we all confront, in the face of negatives that may assail us, is: How do we keep our enthusism alive?

Two things, at a minimum, are needed: 1.An ability to appreciate the positives in our life. 2.A commitment to action.

Every day, it’s important to ask and answer these questions:
1.“What’s good in my life?” 2.“What needs to be done?”

The first question keeps us focused on positives; the second keeps us proactive and reminds us that we are responsible for our own happiness and well-being.
Another aspect of focusing on the positive, and thereby nourishing the soul, is to stay focused on the inquiry “What in my life do I most enjoy? What most stimulates me?”

The pleasures that nurture me personally may be as simple as enjoying the view of the city or spending time in the garden, or appreciating a thing of beauty.
In addition, when I think of nurturing the soul, I think of listening to music and reading books . I also think of the act of writing. When I spend time at my computer, writing, I almost invariably experience a tremendous sense of appreciation of how wonderful it is to be alive.Writing takes energy, and it also creates energy.

The key is to pay close attention to which activities make us feel most alive and in love with life -- and then try to spend as much time as possible engaged in those activities.
Even when our life is most difficult, it is important to remember that something within us is keeping us alive -- the life force -- that lifts us, energizes us, pulls us back sometimes from the abyss of despair. True spirituality does not exist without love of life.


If we stay oriented to the two basic questions -- “What’s good in my life?” and “What needs to be done?” -- and strive to respond to those questions appropriately, the predictable result is that we will be happier human beings and get far more of whatever it is that we want in life.
Doing and being, as well as action and stillness, are dependent on one another. Without action, we would cease to exist, and without stillness, we would neither be able to appreciate our existence nor have a foundation from which to act. We need stillness, we need the pure experience of being, in order to fully realize ourselves.
Out of that stillness can come the motivation to act and also the awareness we need to act wisely, not to lose perspective. When being and doing are in harmony, when stillness and action are friends to each other, we create an integrated, satisfied soul. We are then in the best position to truly enjoy and appreciate life and not be destroyed by adversity.

Another aspect of nourishing the soul is the ability to stay focused on the present, to live in the present.The impulse to focus on the future can be quite strong. It’s natural to look ahead.The key to happiness lay in enjoying the process, not just the final result.

Earning your living by doing something you enjoy is one of the very best ways to nourish yourself. But even if you are employed at something that is not your ideal work, it is important to find ways to take as much pleasure in it as possible. Living in the present moment can make ordinary activities more interesting and joyful -- you may be surprised, if you only look at what you will find.
If you try to stay connected with why you are doing what you are doing, for example, then even the parts of your life that aren’t especially exciting can become more meaningful.Once that becomes a conscious purpose, it’s amazing how imaginative one can become.
Life becomes infinitely more interesting.

The importance of living in the present does not deny the value of being concerned with the future. We want to keep in mind our goals, what we’re moving toward, and to see the progression and direction that underlie our activities. We need to be able to plan for the future without sacrificing the present, and enjoy the present without making ourselves oblivious to the future.
Obviously, we cannot control every single aspect of our life. We are not omnipotent. But we do have an enormous degree of responsibility for the shape our life takes. We have many options about how we will respond to events. We are not passive spectators, but active contestants in the drama of our existence. We need to take responsibility for the kind of life we create for ourselves.

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