Our June Touchstones theme is “Care of the Soul.” Spirit & Soul. Energy & Essence. In Hebrew, the word ruach means “wind,” “breath,” or “spirit.” The fact of our breathing is evidence that we are alive. The Hebrew word nepesh means “soul” or “living being.” Some say that the spirit is what we have and the soul is what we are. These two along with mind and heart, are “ingredients” that make us uniquely human.
Unitarian minister A. Powell Davies said that “the purpose of life is to grow a soul.” To say this is to suggest that at birth there are many ways in which we can express our humanity as we grow and some of these involve the essence of who we are. Do we literally have a soul? I really don’t know, but the word is so evocative of our unique essence and potential. Like the snowflake, each one of us is one of a kind existing in this moment of time. And because the idea of reincarnation is beyond anything I can imagine, we were never before and will never be again. I use the word soul as a metaphor for the essence of our being.
So how do we grow? Anaïs Nin said it best: “We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.”
Join us during the month of June as we explore the role of Care of the Soul in our lives!
Exploring Care of the Soul
Touchstones Journal
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Ways to Engage Care of the Soul This Month
- Theme Services:
- June 6, 10:00am: “An Effect Far Beyond Their Apparent Insignificance: How Ordinary Things Can Change the World”, Rev. Chris Rothbauer
- Second Hours will focus on Care of the Soul throughout the month.
- Covenant Groups will be discussing the theme at our meetings this month.
- Facebook and Instagram Posts: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for daily quotes on our May theme.