What is the Soul? Part 2

This is the second of a two-part entry.

When my wife and I were going through the process to adopt, we were told the Chinese story of the red thread. Basically it says that we are connected by an invisible red thread to everyone were supposed to come in contact with. Now how a thread can be both invisible and red they didn't explain. But the idea is that the connection between your child and you has always existed, even when you were half-way around the world apart from each other. And in this connection with each other we find another place where the soul reveals itself and blooms; that's at the intersection of you and me. The Apostle Paul tells us we are all part of the same body, the body of Christ. And if we are all part of the same body then surely we are all connected at the soul level. And let's face it, humans are pack animals and we need connection with others. For example, if you eat at a restaurant next to Abby she will undoubtedly end up on your lap or wallowing next to you. The kid has this incredible desire to feel physically connected all the time. Several years ago, Molly was missing an aunt of hers who had died and I told her that if she just thought about her, she could always feel Aunt Marie in her heart. Molly considered that for a moment, saying nothing. Then she looked at me and said, "Daddy I think that's where heaven is, I think it's in our hearts." Boy, the truth of that statement hit me hard. If we're all connected to God at the soul level and we're all connected to each other at the soul level than why wouldn't heaven actually be in the heart of each and every one of us? And sometimes when we embrace that need for connection and don't hold so tightly to our own identity, we can have some incredibly soulful experiences.

I was in grad school during the first Gulf War, and in the tutoring center where I worked there was some tension. Not only did we help the international students with their speaking and writing skills, but we had one international student on staff. His name was Ahmed, he was Muslim, and he was from Sudan in Africa. So the only differences Ahmed had from the rest of us in the tutoring center were his color, culture, race, and religion. Unfortunately he became a target for some of the other staff members fear of all things Muslim. This really bothered me, so I decided to try and befriend him. We talked about why he was in America and what he wanted to accomplish when he went back to Sudan. We talked about the similarities in his beliefs and mine. We talked about our families: mine two hours away by car, and his half-way round the world. And we found out that we weren't that different. The semester came to a close and we said our good-byes and that was that. Except it wasn't. The next day I was walking in a rain storm back to my apartment from campus just getting drenched, and thinking some of those words that Billy Ray Cyrus Jesus used to get mad at me about. As I was walking I heard a horn honking. As I turned to see who it was the window rolled down and Ahmed said "get in, get in." He was headed out of town and to the airport to go back to Sudan. So I got in, and he took me to my driveway. Before I got out, he grabbed my hand, and said, "my friend it is so good see you." And at that point something beautiful happened and our souls made a real connection. We sat there, holding hands, both of us with tears streaming down our faces. And in that moment all labels fell away, American, African, Muslim, Christian, none of it mattered. At that moment our souls sat in a quiet contentment as if we'd known each other for all eternity. And I believe on the soul level we have.

There is a sanskrit word: Namaste, and it means that the divine in me blesses and honors the divine in you. It's typically said as a greeting. That is what happened that day for me and Ahmed. We sat next to each other in his burgundy little Honda experiencing Namaste. There is a beautiful poem that expresses this perfectly. It was written by Rumi, who was a Sufi mystic, and it goes like this:

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field.
I will meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other doesn’t make any sense.

What is the soul? I don't know how to define it. But I believe the soul happens at the point where human meets divine. I believe it blossoms when the smallest, most vindictive, poutiest part of you is fully embraced, loved, and accepted by the most divine part of you. And I believe it takes flight when you and I acknowledge our connection and accept each other just as we are. Namaste.