We do not exist for ourselves alone,

and it is only when we are fully convinced of this fact

that we begin to love ourselves properly

and thus also love others.

~Thomas Merton

for all the great days and the not-so-great days….

inquiry for today~ may it be so….

when it’s all ok….

Every time you have an urge to make the world a better place, the soul is connected to your psyche. Every time you try to comfort another creature, even a stranger or tree, you are connecting to that other being through your soul, and every time you try to make yourself into a better person, your soul is excited by the opportunity you are giving it to direct your life. There is nothing esoteric here. Your soul is a kind of idealized version of yourself, but it is more real than the self that was crafted by responses to so-called civilizing impacts on our impressionable selves.

~Ingrid Naiman