Soul Longing

I live near the coast of California…

 

And I have a dog named Buddy.  Buddy likes to go everywhere that I go.  You could say we’re a team.  Buddy was a rescue, so we aren’t sure about his breed, but I call him a shih-tzu mix.  He weighs about 12 pounds and has a mean underbite.  He hikes mountains with me and loves to chase big dogs to show them he can keep up.

And Buddy LOVES the beach!

 

If we are in the car headed anywhere and Buddy sees the ocean from his seat, he begins to whimper.  He then excites himself and will stare straight at the big blue sea and fuss like a girl who’s ready to wet her pants.  Somehow, my dog Buddy has a deep longing to be near the ocean.  I can completely relate.

 

I also have a deep connection with the ocean.  Just standing on the sand grounds me and brings a wave of calm.  I find more clarity when I am close to the ocean  My purpose becomes apparent and I am able to see solutions where clouds of conflict and confusion only resided.  My soul craves time on the beach and near the ocean.  In a way, every time I see the ocean, my soul whimpers, cries and calls out to go to it, just like Buddy does.

 

I respond to my soul’s cries to be near the ocean by taking it to walk on the beach, to sit on the sand and read, or watch the waves, or write.  Sometimes, I will pull off the road just to sit at the cliff’s edge in my car and gaze out upon it.  It rejuvenates me.  I breathe in the salty air and my soul comes alive and dances with delight.

 

However, there are too many incidences when I don’t respond to my soul’s longing, or I respond instead with reasoning and circumstance about why it isn’t possible.  There isn’t time, or there are other commitments.  It’s too cold out, or too hot, or Buddy just had a bath and there’s no way I’m gonna let him get all sandy today.  When I do this too many times, my joy meter dips down.  My spirit becomes listless, my senses groggy, and I find myself spinning my wheels in life and not getting very far.

 

I consider this to be an analogy for how to live or not live.

 

I see it as a way that I keep myself from a full experience of joy.  I know you do it, too!!

There is something for which your soul calls out.  Are you listening?  How do you respond when you feel the longing deep inside you?  Do you deprive your soul of the thing that gives it life and helps it fulfill its purpose?  Are you living in a groggy state?  Do you sense that you have a greater purpose, but don’t know what it is? How much JOY are you experiencing?

 

Take a moment and ask your soul what makes it leap and dance.  It will tell you.  Then go out and do that.  As often as possible.

Watch what happens.

And please let me know. 😉