Soul Care

And just like that another summer has come and gone.  Fall is in the air, the trees are turning,  the pumpkin spiced latte adds have taken over my pinterest feed, and the kids are....wait for it....back in school.  

Some Mom's mourn this season while others rejoice.  I tend to rejoice (mostly).  With the start of something new I always find myself making long lists of to-do's and what-could-be's when it comes to my newfound time.  Much like a New Years Resolution, I tend to start off strong.  I get up early, make my child's lunchbox look like a beautiful display of art,  take the time for french braids and matching outfits, and whisk everyone out the door with well wishes and smiles.

Then begins my 6 solid hours of uninterrupted time- power time to get something done....FINALLY!!!  I typically attack my projects list, you know the one.  Those tasks you see and say "I will get around to that next week"  but somehow your weeks turn into years.  Pulling out the fridge for a "quick vacuum" is never quick because Lord only knows what you will find unexpectedly lurking back there.

Needless to say, my days turn into weeks, my list of to-do's never really seem to complete itself, sick kids happen in the midst of it all, and before I know it I am back in my old routine- surviving instead of thriving.  

The thing of it is, I don't want to JUST survive, as corny as it sounds I want to thrive.  How do you thrive in the day to day?  What's the secret, the trick, the key?  How do I balance it all so I can see the meaning in it all?  

A friend whispered the words "soul care" to me the other day while I was lamenting.  Soul care?  Like, caring for my soul?  Sure, sounds good.  I like those words, I like how they sound, but really, what the heck is soul care?

I get dressed (most days).  Sometimes I wash my hair.  
I eat every day.  Coffee included.
I scroll Facebook.
I text with friends.  
I binge watch netflix with my husband in the evenings.  

That's enough care for my soul, right?  I might be falling short here.  

According to my google search bar, soul care is defined as "literally caring for and curing the very breathe that gives us life.  It is tending to the deepest needs of the soul."

The deepest need of the soul?  That seems heavy and hard.  In the midst of functioning as a wife, Mom, daughter, neighbor, and friend have I ever really stopped and contemplated what my soul's deepest needs are?  I can rattle off some of my kids deepest needs in a heartbeat, or even my husbands, but mine?  Sometimes it seems easier to throw that one into the "lets not bother going there" category and call it good.

Most of us are familiar with the oxygen on a plane example where in case of emergency, they instruct you to FIRST put on your mask before helping others put on theirs.  Basically, you are of no help to others if you can't function yourself.

What is oxygen in a metaphorical day to day sense?  What level do I need to be at in order to not only function but overflow to my family and those around me?  Maybe by taking the time and thought to identify what my soul needs, I can begin to move out of survival mode.

Tending to our soul looks different for all of us.  For me, there is an intricate spiritual urgency to it.  My personal relationship with God is the anchor that steady's my soul and everything else follows in suit.  

When I  spend time with Him, reading His Word and applying it to my life...
When I pause and notice the beauty in something...
When I chose thankfulness over entitlement...
When I give, care and volunteer...
When I pray...
When I reflect, journal, and simply be...
When I play and laugh...
When I run and feel breath in my lungs...
When I read a good book...
When I create..
When I get coffee with a friend..
When I exchange a smile with someone...
When I take time to enjoy a hobby...
When I rest...
When I encourage...
When I love.....

THIS is what fills me up on a deeper level and what my soul desperately needs.  Simply identifying and recognizing these needs is a step towards thriving.  Allowing myself to carve out time for these things, one at a time, is where the transformation begins to occur and somewhere along the line the focus shifts from my soul to others.  It's an overflow of the heart, of the person you are continually becoming.  

This fall, I hope to focus less on my To-Do List and my aspirations towards the 'Perfect- Pinterest -Super-Mom' and instead focus on my own soul and its care with the hope and the goal that I will have greater influence and impact on those around me because my own soul is well.   If we would each take time to care for our own souls, the world would be transformed one person at a time.