Proper Care and Feeding of the Soul...

I wonder who I would be if I had not had the spiritual journey that comes with my life. It would seem so empty...a bare room with no furniture. I suppose that's a good enough analogy. We choose what furniture to put in that room; it can be done carefully or the polar opposite: frentically. And anything in between the two. But for those who are not mindful of putting anything in the room at all...well, I cannot even begin to imagine what that would be like. Where I am now has so much to do with the care and feeding of the soul. There are so many ways in which the soul can be fed. Engaging myself in artful activities not only makes me happy, but fills my soul. I often feel like the person at the "all you can eat" buffett that has way too much food loaded on their plate. Let me explain further: not only do I do visual art, but I have always been a dancer. Even when I'm not dancing, I'm dancing. Whenever I listen to music, I'm dancing in my head. Especially when I'm in the car. So, I feel rather 'hogish' that I do visual art to fill my spritual self with, and I also have dance. Yes, I have religion too. But I don't feel guilty about any of it. All of these things, these activites gives me a sense of connection to the world; a connection that I am simply additced to and cannot live without. Thomas Moore once said that, "Ultimately,care of the soul results in an individual "I" I never would have planned for or maybe even wanted. By caring for the soul faithfully, every day, we step out of the way and let our full genius emerge." Imagine that! Here's another way to see it: by taking care of yourself everyday, you are more able to realize the full potential within you. The image here is this week's project: an encaustic painting. I haven't given it a title yet, but perhaps I shall call it "I" to remind me of Thomas Moore's quote.