Soul Exchange

We say we exchange words when we meet. What we exchange is souls. 
–Minot J. Savage

Outside of the basic necessities of fresh air, clean water, food, sleep and love, there is something that human beings long for above all else: to be seen and heard. These precious morsels truly feed the soul, and are not experienced nearly enough. On the deepest level, this means expressing who we are—without censor or hindrance—and finding ourselves wholly accepted by another.

Without a witness or mirror we are lost unto ourselves. Our minds and emotions become random and disordered in isolation. It’s the reflections of others that anchor us in the present moment and give us perspective and meaning.  Our ideas and feelings bounce back to us so that we’re no longer blind and deaf, allowing us to find our location in relation to our environment.

We simply cannot fully know ourselves without another. The flip side is that we can also lose ourselves in another (but that’s another topic).

Either extreme is blinding, as are the twins of selfishness and selflessness. Too much of anything is always too much.

With that said, not much comes close to being really seen by another. This is the true meaning of unconditional love, even if it is only temporary or a moment in time, it is a beautiful thing to experience and to give to another. In the same vein, as with all things spiritual, it takes presence and attention, dropping the agenda and really tuning in and listening to another. Just be there. Fully. Just capture someone with your presence.

There is no greater gift we can give than to soak in another’s raw, radiant beauty. Time and space stop and nothing else matters.

We are all moving so fast that we often only give others a cursory glance or brief acknowledgment, so busy are we with what is rambling inside of our own heads. Running through life gets us nowhere fast and we miss just about everything. What we are seeking is all around us, and yet we don’t see it because our vision has become blurred by our rush to get to the next thing on our list.

Do you ever miss people right after you’ve seen them? If so, then you know what I’m talking about. We blink and the moment and the people in it are gone, whizzing past us in a whirlwind of doing and movement.

You know how it feels when someone isn’t really listening to you? They’re distracted by something and you find yourself in the middle of a monologue? Neither one of you is really present. Just warm bodies and talking heads, but no real contact.

No wonder we feel so lost and lonely sometimes. What we really need at those times is to spend some time being fully present with someone and having someone be fully present with us.

We also need to spend time being present with ourselves. Time in which we fully listen to our bodies, our hearts, our desires, our ideas, etc. Just quality time slowing down and listening.

The sweet nectar of life is all around us, juicy and delicious, waiting for us to partake.