I believe there are times in our lives when we feel the need to answer our soul’s calling. Some people experience this when a career path that previously seemed to be set in stone no longer is fulfilling. Other people may feel this as a pained realization that the person they thought they would be spending the rest of their lives with is no longer the partner they want. There are lucky folks who experience this soul calling only as a positive feeling and follow it with no second thoughts at all. But most of us just aren’t that lucky, and this Avett Brothers song seems to allude to this common human experience.
Souls like the wheels
Turning, taking us with wind at our heels
Burning, making us decide on what we’re giving
Change this way of living
I believe our souls are always guiding us to live our best lives. I also believe the Divine created us to love. Period. Full stop. Our lives are meant not to be lived just for ourselves. We are here to make a better world for others as well. I know this may sound like a naive and simplistic view of the world, but welcome to my blog! I have written about having open hearts and being willing to live a life where forgiveness is a key to a happier life. And now I’m saying that our souls are not just riding shotgun while we make decisions on how to live our lives. At the most confusing and frustrating times of our lives, our souls are there trying to support and steer our decisions.
In the Tarot these life changing moments can be best pictured in the Tower card. The Tower can represent epiphanies that come from seemingly out of the blue and that rock your world as you know it. The picture on the Tower card is usually of a tower burning with 2 people falling from the top (reason #245 that people are afraid of the Tarot). However, this is an accurate representation of how it can feel when you are being called by your soul to change something in your life. When your soul or intuitive voice whispers to you that change needs to happen, you may acknowledge the truth but want to deny it at the same time. No matter how many times you “hear” the call, living in the past seems easier than envisioning a new future. Even if life feels like it is an obstacle course complete with pain and unhappiness, the thought of making any change can seem like an impossible task.
But here’s the thing…your soul has a supernatural strength that will not be drowned out easily. People have tried to cancel out the noise of an inner calling with drugs, alcohol, sex, and just about any other vice to which you can become addicted. The most common vice though is settling for a life filled with regret, unfulfilled dreams, and routines that leave you feeling empty inside.
Our spirits are not meant to be drowned out and ignored. We weren’t created to live sad lives where our decisions only affect ourselves. When we don’t follow our soul’s guidance, the world is deprived of what your change could bring about. If your soul is pushing you to leave that comfortable office job for an apprenticeship with a local chef, you may one day create the perfect meal that is served when a young man proposes to his long time girlfriend. That may seem like a petty contribution, but it isn’t to that man who wants to provide a perfect memory for his love. And who knows how many other people will be positively affected by that chef’s creations. My point is that when you are doing what your soul calls you to do, others will benefit. The soul doesn’t give messages that benefits only you. There is always a bigger plan that you might never even know about.
Music is one of the greatest prods to start listening to your soul. The Avett Brothers sing about how something as small as one song can change how you view life.
One little song
Give me strength to leave the sad and the wrong
Buried safely in the past where I’ve been living
Alive but unforgiving
Let me go, let me go, let me go, let me go
This whole blog is an example of how music can prod you to follow a soul’s call which for me was to make writing a constant in my life. As someone who has followed her soul’s urging several times, I can tell you that it is not an easy thing to do. It was so much easier to just stay with the guy or to keep on being the “good girl” who lived her life for others. But the freedom and satisfaction I have felt when I allowed myself to make the changes that my soul was crying out for have been nothing but positive for my life. I have forgiven loved ones and myself for wasting so much time trying to quell the inner voice. I like to think that I have helped others as well including my current crew of 7 year olds. When I listen to them read or watch them solve a math problem, I know that my soul had it right from the start. More importantly, when they open up and talk to me about a problem that seems huge to their 7 year old minds, I thank God for allowing me to have a career where I can help them.
Souls like the wings
Spreading out away from bad memories
Make us capable of taking off and landing
Alive with understanding
Let me go, let me go, let me go, let me go
Let me go, let me go, let me go, let me go
Once you follow your soul’s urging and feel that rush of freedom and alignment, it will make all the struggles to get there worth it. Don’t settle for a “life unexamined” and one where you are living someone else’s life. Listen to your soul, and let it transport you to a more meaningful life.
One Foot In, One Foot Back 