“So often, when we feel lost, adrift in our lives, our first instinct is to look out into the distance to find the nearest shore. But that shore, that solid ground, is within us. The anchor we are searching for is connection, and it is internal. To form meaningful connections with others, we must first connect with ourselves…”
The phrase “connect with ourselves” suggests to me that there is more to us than we realize, a dimension that is other than the self we identify with in our everyday life. It is when we are out of touch with this aspect of ourselves that we feel lost and adrift, unsure of who we are, why we are, and what we are to do with our lives.
Author Brene Brown suggests that when we feel adrift we ought to do something very counterintuitive, namely, look inside, not out, for what might bring us comfort and meaning. It is second nature to seek beyond the borders of ourselves for the consolation and direction we desire. Whether it be, for example, the company of another, the satisfaction of food or drink, or the feeling of accomplishment that comes with productivity and its monetary/material rewards, it is what we don’t presently possess that we assume is the cause of our ennui, our internal discontent, and the source of our hoped for happiness.
If as Brown suggests, the genesis of our unrest is the lack of a relationship with our self (soul), then no external connection can bring us any lasting contentment. But this begs the question, what does it take to be in communion with our deepest self? My response to this query is that some time of silence and stillness is necessary in order to arrive at our inner-shore, that solid ground where, if we drop anchor there, can bring about a sense of wholeness, direction, and peace, the sine qua non for healthy relationships with others.
Attuned to Soul 