I am going to quote from the book Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore, again! My understanding of Moore’s writing is that our souls are a critical element of our being and we need to actively care for them. I was reading a chapter about work and so I include these excepts that caught my attention :

1. “When we think of work, we only consider function, and so the soul elements are left to chance. Where there is no artfulness about life, there is a weakening of soul.”

2. “We move closer to the souls work when we go deeper than intellectual abstractions and imaginary fancies that do not well up from the more profound roots of feeling. The more deeply our work stirs our imagination and corresponds to images that lie at the bedrock of identity and fate, the more it will have soul. Work is an attempt to find an adequate alchemy that both wakens and satisfies the very root of our being.”

3. “Our work takes on narcissistic qualities when it does not serve well as a reflection of self. When that inherent reflection is lost, we become more concerned instead with how our work reflects on our reputations. We seek to repair our painful narcissism in the glow of achievement, and so we become distracted from the soul of the work for it’s sake. We are tempted to find satisfaction in secondary rewards such as money, prestige and the trappings of success.”

4. “When the soul is involved, the work is not carried out by the ego alone, it arises from a deeper place and therefore is not deprived of passion, spontaneity and grace.”

I read this chapter with glee. I can relate completely to the shadow side of these statements. My work has been about form, there has been minimal creativity that I have been able to include. My work has not stirred my imagination and so I have struggled to get out of bed and really contribute with all that I have. Work has not been a good reflection of myself and I have also seen the need to manage my reputation. I have tried to love the benefits of money and prestige and success but have failed dismally. These things just have not made me happy.

I believe that I have so much more to offer this world than what I am currently giving it and yet I have not found a way to tap into these reservoirs of passion and ability! For most of my life I have sincerely believed that I have needed to do something worthwhile. I have also considered this belief to be something I could just add to my life or an itch I could scratch when the time was right. I have come to the conclusion that far from being just an itch, this belief is actually a fundamental building block of my life and so by pushing it aside I was doomed to fail in deep satisfaction.

I am amazed to read in a book some of the failings that I have as well as suggestions on how to resolve them. More amazing is that I have just just begun this pilgrimage! Amongst all of the chaos and doubt and questioning of my decision, here is an uncalled for second opinion saying go for it!!! This is strictly not true but is my interpretation of Moore’s words. The essence to me is that we need to find work that stirs our soul. If we get this right, there is an outpouring from deep within ourselves that will fill our work with passion, spontaneity and grace. This is what my pilgrimage is about – finding work that satisfies the very root of my being!