soul

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? -- Mark 8: 36-37

And, to keep the gender balance: For what shall it profit a woman, if she shall gain the whole world, and lose her own soul? Or what shall a woman give in exchange for her soul?

We live in the temporal world, the world of time, the temporary world, the world in which we are temps, and we live as souls, as microcosms of the macrocosm, as embodyings of our Source.

In this temporal world, we tend to drift and to trade away parts of our essence for things we want. We look for security. We look for peace. We look for happiness. If we can just get this kind of job. If we can just get this type of position. If we can just get this particular retirement plan. If we can just get that person to tie their lives in with ours. If we just had enough money. If we just lived somewhere else. We begin to live the life of the "just."

Meanwhile, almost entirely out of our notice, the soul of us slips away. Weakened, undernourished, neglected, the essence of us sends out alarm signals. We take that alarm as the need for more world sustenance and we begin to consume more of that which does not sustain us, does not feed our soul. We trade our birthright for a bowl of sugared corn.

What shall we give in exchange for our soul? A strangely worded question. Not what shall we get, but what shall we give. "I will give time to you and whatever you want me to do in exchange for my soul." In addition to being soul-numbing, this is a false bargaining position. Our soul is not our own. It is a gift to us from our Source. We are trying to barter something that is not ours.

The question also implies that when engaged in such transactions, we become brokers for our souls, pimps of our own prostitution. We become a third party, even more alienated.

No one can determine when one is exchanging soul for the temporary except oneself.

If I were going to get a tattoo, This Soul Not For Sale might be a good one.

Well, okey-dokey. I hope everyone has recovered from their Easter Resurrection hangover. That Monday after Easter Sunday can be tough. You are joyously resurrected and then find out that you are still here!

Let's stand and sing "Where The Soul Of Man Never Dies!"