A meeting of souls.

The concept of loneliness seems foreign to me today. Often my body craves physical connections to the people I care for and my mind and emotional being crave the presence of others. But the manifestation of loneliness in my physical world is insignificant today. Today I acknowledge my spiritual needs and the comfort and care my soul searches for.

It is only in moments like the ones that I’ve lived this weekend and weekends past at Goddard that my soul frees itself of my constructed burdens and goes on a trek to find its mates. There is a process of meeting and greeting; sometimes soulmates are found and sometimes it’s just a meeting of souls. These are the most nourishing experiences I have had the privilege to engage in. To feel true connection and affinity with people who are strangers to me in the physical world – it would be a travesty if I did not acknowledge the deeper and more meaningful relationship that exists and flourishes when our souls enter the same space.

I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I selfishly await the days when I can declare that I’ve uncovered these reasons and retrospectively feel empowered about an experience, regardless of its initial emotional charge. I am sure that the physical journeys our bodies live in order to meet are all part of a larger conspiracy by our souls to meet their counterparts. I feel good today because I can safely and confidently say that I can foresee a future in which many more of these meetings occur and I look forward to caring for my spiritual self in this way.

“Really important meetings are planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other. Generally speaking, these meetings occur when we reach a limit, when we need to die and be reborn emotionally. These meetings are waiting for us, but more often than not, we avoid them happening. If we are desperate, though, if we have nothing to lose, or if we are full of enthusiasm for life, then the unknown reveals itself, and our universe changes direction” – Paulo Coelho

Over the weekend I was asked to describe the culture of my residency in one word, I chose “re-learning”. This evening, upon reflecting on Paulo Coelho’s words I am pondering the shift that recent experiences have influenced. Engaging wholeheartedly, accepting opportunities to challenge and be challenged, with nothing to lose except perhaps portions of ego and preconceived notions. My soul has found a home away from home, encouraging me to forge a new home and new sense of community as I leave the comforts of my home – even if only briefly.