THE GOAL IS SOUL

My favorite poet, prophet, and Irish rock star has a saying (you might even call it a life mantra) “the goal is soul.” That resonates with me, especially as I think about the great commandment of Jesus, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your mind, heart, soul and strength.” Many of us have some handle on the heart, mind and strength stuff (passion, intellect and muscle), but when it comes to loving the Lord with soul, things tend to get a bit fuzzy.

Lately I have been reading a great book by Ronald Rolheiser, The Holy Longing - The Search for a Christian Spirituality. He talks quite a bit about soul. Here is a brief except to get the conversation started:

“A healthy soul, therefore, must do two things for us. First, it must put some fire in our veins, keep us energized, vibrant, living with zest, and full of hope as we sense that life is, ultimately beautiful and worth living. Whenever this breaks down is us, something is wrong with our souls. When cynicism, despair, bitterness, or depression paralyzes our energy, part of the soul is hurting. Second, a healthy soul has to keep us fixed together. It has to continually give us a sense of who we are, where we came from, where we are going and what sense there is in all of this. When we stand looking at ourselves, confusedly, in a mirror and ask ourselves what sense, if any, there is to our lives, it is this other part of the soul, our principle of integration, that is limping.” (14)

What comes to your mind when you hear the word soul? Is there anything in Rolheiser’s description that resonates with you? Anything you question or disagree with?

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