Soul Food...

Last night, as I turned off the lights in my little girl's room and lay snuggling with her before she fell asleep, I thought again about how important it is to have soul food on a daily basis.  Not ribs and collards.  At least not today.  Not that kind of soul food. 

Nope.  Feeding your soul is so much more than filling your belly.  And it happens in so many ways, if you pay attention.  Like last night.  With the lights out in my daughter's room, quieting down before bed, it feels like the whole world is just that room.  Nothing else matters.  We cuddle, we giggle, we just 'are'.  And although she needs to have a sense of independence, of being able to fall asleep alone, I am loathe to leave the room.  It is more often than not my favorite part of the day.  I will sorely miss it when she is too old to want me there.

And, just like that, my soul is fed. 

There are so many facets of us that need to be sated, daily.  The hunger is there, even if we aren't aware of it.  Beauty, love, art, music, community, nature.  They are all soul food. 

I am fortunate enough to be able to fill the part of me that needs nature and beauty on a daily basis.  My work with flowers is about so much more than the perishable product that sits in my cooler.  The colors, the textures, the fragrance all touch me in different ways.  They fill all of my senses; they inspire me; they drive me to create beauty with beauty. 

And in creating beauty with beauty, I am able to feed the part of me that needs art.  Sharing that art with clients feeds my sense of community, which brings love in so many ways.  Love of what I do, love with the happiness that my work brings others. 

And, just like that, my soul is fed. 

This is the cycle of subtle and not-so subtle ways that we sustain ourselves internally. It is continual, cyclical, ever present.  And you can never over eat.