Journey of the Soul
Our greatest purpose is to love. This sounds so simple, yet in our fragile human state, virtually impossible. Selfishness and love are mutually exclusive. Our fragile ego seems to cling onto our self-will as though our very existence depended on it.
Our survival is linked to this primitive ego state. As children, one of the first words and concepts we learn is ‘mine’. This is imprinted in our DNA from the moment of conception. It is in the soul, not the body that we journey towards a deepening of love. Love is not a ‘thing’, a feeling, an ownership. Love is a gradual unfolding, a deepening, a relationship with the other, with the world around us and with an eternal thou.
As humans, we are born into a state of internal conflict. The ability to choose, the ability to feel guilt and desire, seems to stand in opposition to the journey of the soul. The material world of the ego and self-protection is often in conflict with the truth-seeking soul.
I am often struck at how our heroes of the soul have been called into the wilderness. This might be the wilderness of depression, bankruptcy, imprisonment or extreme personal loss. It seems that the ego must be stripped bare to seek a path devoid of comfort and materialism.
Nelson Mandela’s greatest achievements were in the silence and degradation of imprisonment. This is where he fought his greatest battle - the battle against bitterness, resentment and self-pity. By the time of his release, he was able to take a broken nation and offer reconciliation and forgiveness.
There is not one truly great human being who has not been called to the wilderness - a place of freeing the soul. The wilderness is seldom a physical one. It can be health, unemployment, loneliness, betrayal, or any one of several sufferings that leave the heart feeling desolate and alone. It is during these times that the journey of the soul takes a felt meaning.
