What feeds your soul?

Not a How-To question, obviously. Or maybe it is? Either way, I practically live here on this board...(yeah, that's my room, three doors down and to the right, lol)...so I thought I would post this here.

I had the pleasure of talking with a wonderful man today who asked me one simple yet profound question:

"What feeds your soul?"

It made me wonder. What do you need to sustain that most intimate part of you, the part only the closest people see...or maybe even the part that no one else ever sees. What inspires you, makes you who you are at the deepest essence of your being?

What can you absolutely not live without? What do you have to have to sustain your inner self, just as urgently as a physical body needs water to survive?

So...I'm curious, as always.

What feeds your soul?



S.

Laughter.

Smiles.

A simple, "Thanks, Dad" from one of the children.

Talking deeply with someone who can virtually read my mind.

Music, especially Beethoven.

Running.

OK, I'll stop now before my soul needs Weight Watchers.

Laughter
Love
smiles from those closest 2 me
MUSIC

For me it boils down, more than anything, to two things

Music

Spending time with someone I care for

hi sheath

i live for connection with people. i'm always surprised by new ways.

Firefighter runs from opening the wrong door again. LOL..sorry..force of habit don't ya know.

Damn good question actually...Had to sit here and really think on this one..

To be needed
To be remembered.


I think those two things account for who I am on a deeper level. And also the two things that get me into the most trouble.



Now back to my room to room search....Knock Knock Knock....."Mam, Fire & Rescue".


Watch the frog

That just reminds me of our buddy's favorite phrase:
"I'm a firefighter, Ma'am. I'm here to help."

Seriuosly, what does feed my soul?

Life, with all its trials and tribulations, with my husband.
The sight of my son every morning when he wakes up.
And every night when I put him to bed.
And all the moments in between.

Creating. Whether it be poems, songs, or stories. Or even the crappy artwork I've been known to squeeze out.
Works of art that I wish I had created.

Good high quality sleep.

Learning. Not generic book learning, but true learning that comes from experience and maturity.

Friendships that once developed, I know I would never be whole without.

Admiration.
That kinda sounds a little egotistical. My explanation likely will, too.
I love the admiration that sounds in my friends' or family's voices when I tell a story or reason a problem out verbally with them. The admiration that tells me that I really do have something worth saying to the world, that my brain isn't completely filled with fluff. The admiration that keeps me pushing myself to do better.

That is what feeds my soul.
Ang

Hmm... Ok, y'all sit back and prepare to be shocked... Ranger is gonna be serious...

Sometimes there are too many things to count, other times there's only one or two things, primarily it depends on my mood. Sometimes I sit and watch my son play, sometimes I just sit and read. A big one is watching jet after jet take off at nine o'clock at night on full afterburn (did that one tonight), or sitting on the couch with Ang's head on my shoulder while I run my hand through her hair. Or listening to her plink away on her keyboard while talking to Sheath. On a bad day, watching the guys at work scatter from my line of sight because they've heard all the "Crazy Ranger" stories. On worse days... being alone deep in thought works wonders. Sometimes there are things that "feed" my soul that scarethe crap outta me... but that's what therapy is for.

J

what feeds my soul?

working towards making a difference.
be it in a single person's life, or many.
'making it count'.

that's it.

the first thing that comes to mind is music...good lyrics and a moving melody...theres honestly nothing like it.

I'd also have to say the important friendships in my life...feeling like I can express myself without fear, whether through my words or poems or just the way I feel like acting on a certain day.

The moments when I am comfortable and happy with who I am make life worth living...even though they are more seldom than I would like.

lastly, the idea that love really can exist between two people...I'm a but of an optimist, but I really like to believe in love.

Well, my kids for starters. Daddy's little girl. My daughter came into my office at just a while ago rubbing her eyes and saying, "Daddy what are you doing still working? Come lay down with me, I'll help you sleep." Feeling her hand running through my hair while trying not to drift off. Watching her sleep. Smelling her hair.

Watching my son curl up against my wife and grope her in his sleep. The boy misses milk-on-tap. Too bad he's getting too heavy to carry to his room. Listening to him take his first steps into reading. Watching him learn about the world around him.

Working with my father for the last 20 years. Making his latest brain child come to fruition. Coming up with clever ways to solve problems.

Seeing my wife studying for exams and knowing how much she is looking forward to her MBA. Knowing that I can help her. Feeling her breasts against my back when she snuggles up to me in her sleep.

Working on my little start up music biz. Doing what we're doing better than our competitors.

I guess it boils down to keeping my life balanced.

During my unhappy marriage it was my children first and foremost.....then rock and metal music, the louder the better, and books, I would escape into thick fantasy and historical romance novels. A couple of wonderful women helped so much after I split from my ex and gave me so much support when I needed them

Now it's still those things, but with the added wonder of Gil's love.......support, caring and sharing our lives together. Today for instance, we were driving along and perving at the pretty girls and comparing notes I'm still amazed at how we share the same taste in women We seem to feed each other's souls....

What feeds my soul?

Late at night, sitting outside, under the full moon, listening to the world while it sleeps.

A walk, in a meadow, in the sunlight, feeling the warm ground under my bare feet.

Listening to the babbling of the creek that I grew up around. In the woods, during the summer, alone.

Dancing like noone is watching....

What feeds my soul is my mate making me smile and laughter I love to laugh brings much happiness to me.

Hearing the laughter of my kids when they are truly getting along.

And having someone know you inside and out, being able to finish your sentences and know what you are thinking sometimes before you do.

Having HIM take my hand and turn me to give me a kiss and say 'I love you' without wondering what he is up to Now!
Cealy

Knowing I have done all I possibly could to prepare my two wonderful children who are now on their own successfully.

My husband's constant romantic ways that make me feel like every day is a date.

The ability to lead a life where a government doesn't rule your every move.

There are more but these came to mind right away.

In no particular order

music, esp Al Stewart!

books

solitude

nature

friends

family

children

textiles

chocolate

love

water

travel

art

new experiences

What fills my soul?


God and my faith firstly and foremost.

being needed.....knowing I make a difference.


the laughter and smile of my daughter

the loving loks and touches from my husband.


the miracle of beauty in surprising places.


music.....all kinds of music.


Words written by me or read by me. Poetry or prose.


Memories...both good and bad. i treasure my memories.

soul food

the first meeting of my childrens eyes to mine, both tired and exhausted from the journey to that moment and in desperate need of the nourishment that simple unspoken love yields as we look at each other and know that nothing in the world could be more beloved by me at that very moment.

the soft tickle of any of my daughters breath against my neck as I've carried them sleepily up to bed. The slow smile upon seeing me as they waken, or the delicate twining of little arms against my body as a simple touch or word from me stops their tears.

the weight of my husbands arm across my chest as we sleep and the warm solidness of his body next to mine. The way he smiles at me when he thinks I'm not looking. His laugh, his touch and his unfailing belief that things will work out in the end. Falling asleep against his chest.

recognition for hard work.

the sound of the ocean kissing the shore at night and the softness of a summer breeze against my skin.

good food eaten in the warm company of good friends.

What do you need to sustain that most intimate part of you, the part only the closest people see...or maybe even the part that no one else ever sees. What inspires you, makes you who you are at the deepest essence of your being?

What can you absolutely not live without? What do you have to have to sustain your inner self, just as urgently as a physical body needs water to survive?

Lots of ways to answer this one. I was thinking at first that maybe my soul has many doors -- like Literotica -- but giving it more thought, maybe it's like vitamins, and you can't survive on just Vitamin C alone. First thought was that whatever isn't being fed is what I seem to need. If my Mama side is getting lots of feeding taking care of kids, my brain gets hungry for purely intellectual esoteric stimulation. Then there is the day to day soul feeding, such as music, that is like water for your plants. They need it every day but it's not all they need. Taking it another direction entirely, there are those things one needs when one is down to bare bones living. What would you take with you to the desert island kind of stuff. For me, even when I didn't even own sheets or a fork (had a spoon and a bedspread I slept over and under), I spent my first cash on a record, a plant and a pen and ink drawing that I hung on the wall where it would be the first thing I saw when I woke up. So art, music and nature seem to be some primary soul-feeders.
Another way to look at it is what I needed during a difficult pregnancy. Good literature and trips to the ocean. Fantasy certainly, as when I was stuck on the couch for months, two things that helped keep me sane were imagining a new life for myself and repainting a picture on the wall in my mind.
I guess I'm answering this in such detail, as it's an interesting question, and it's one that a desperate person somewhere might actually get some value from. So, I'm examining the process of finding my own answers, as well as the answers themselves.
One secret answer from childhood has been that when I was really miserable and stuck for some reason, I'd count how long until something. How many years until I'd be old enough to leave home, how many months until school is over for the year, that sort of thing. Not nourishing soul food, but a desperate fall-back measure that seems to be central to my being.
Sensory things, the smell of the earth, really listening, eyes closed, to the sounds of the world are certainly soul food.
There is a book I used to carry with me, called Ps. Your Cat is Dead by James Kirkwood, that I read over and over (I'm not one to read a book more than once otherwise) during some really hard times, that always made me laugh, which fed my soul.
My favorite dreams have been about flying, or about creating small musical plays. The two things I go back to as things I want to do before I die are feel I've made a difference, helped create progress toward improving the world, and art.
I keep looking back at how you phrased the question, and still somehow seem that I haven't captured the essence of what that thing is for me. The answer is probably something more like 'hope for change.' When I think of feeling suicidal a long time ago as a teen, that was what was missing. The saving grace was reminding myself that things Always change, that only death is permanent. Curiosity is another part of it, as it always seemed to work to remind myself that if I died now, I'd never know how it all turned out.

Sorry to give this a morbid turn. I think it's just really hard to know what Really matters to you until you are pinned to the wall. Writing poetry helped me defy fate at several points. My integrity and honor (doing the right thing) turned out to be integral to who I am and what I value beyond all else at several points, even to risk of death.
On a lighter note, it turns out that following what my body blindly wants, has served me better than my mind at several points. For instance, I had 'baby hunger' -- really wanted to have kids -- though it's more logical not to. It has worked much better to follow those instincts. Feels like my soul would have dried up if I'd only done what made sense.
Have you noticed that many of the things that nourish our souls are very much things of the body and senses?
3 more things I haven't seen mentioned on this list but certainly are soul sustainers: 1. a feeling of deep connection to the wider world of people. A feeling that no matter how deep your pain someone shares it, that there are others who care, that there are others out there like you. This feeling can come from the strangest places -- the internet, for instance.
2. a related sense of spirituality -- that there is something, a oneness, a wave we ride in the universe, especially when we do something good, feel awe at beauty or nature.
3. sex -- which can sometimes give you a feeling of spirituality, and sometimes can be simpler, a daily sustainer, like music. But maybe those things -- sex, music, crying when something moves you -- are all ways to experience that Something else. Peak experiences that lift you out of your sleepwalk. Simple reminders to notice, pay attention, enjoy.
I've been sustained at the most miserable of times by letting myself feel the sun on my back, smell the breeze, hear birds. What sustains you, you take with you. Maybe it's singing.

Is that all Phoenix?

What feeds my soul? Easy - my "alone" time. Just me. The rest of the world shut out and forgotten. Doesn't really matter what I'm doing: reading, writing, sewing, sitting by the beach. It's just me and only me. I like people, don't get me wrong. But too many people and too much talking makes my brain feel cluttered and my life chaotic. I need escape to rejuvenate, if only for a few hours.

I did forget one, intrinsically essential, thing.

Nature, yes, but within that broad scope...

WATER.

Waterfalls, full of majestic beauty or heartwrenching simplicity.
Rivers, slowly meandering or screaming through rushing rapids.
Lakes, clear and deep (Crater Lake for example) or shallow and full of life.
Brooks and Creeks, bubbly and full of spirit or quietly meditative.
The ocean in its awe-inspiring monstrosity. Lapping on the sand or crashing against cliffs.
Springs, with their neverending youth.
So many different forms, each with its own personality and draw.
Water and nature is poetic just by existing.

Rain. Ah, yes... it's raining right now and I feel like I'm home.
It's a sleepy day today, and my heart is comfortable.

Ang

My soul is fed by:

Time spent with my beloved, be it in person or on the phone (though in person's better)
My writting/painting/etc.
Reading Tarot and Runes and discovering new things about them almost daily (love the Quabalah)
Goddess, the thee that are three and then some
Chocolate
Baking
The smile you get from a patient that's just learning to walk again because of you when two weeks before they thought they never would walk on thier own again.
Cooking
Being able to be the zany odd creature that I am without repraisal.
Reading (normal book stuff)

Umm... that's all I can think of right now.

Phoenix Stone said:

There is a book I used to carry with me, called Ps. Your Cat is Dead by James Kirkwood, that I read over and over (I'm not one to read a book more than once otherwise) during some really hard times, that always made me laugh, which fed my soul.

Click to expand...

I love that book, and the play of it, people thought I was nuts, but it was so funny. That and the judith blume book about a kid's little brother eating his turtle.

Noor