This is a guest article by Lisa Frentress McCormack
I have never been one to live in a house full of carefully coordinated or even brand new furniture. Our home is, and always has been, an eclectic mixture of scratch-and-dents, hand-me-downs, and Craigslist gems; which is why I didn’t get upset when my son, James, and his young friend decided one day, many years ago, unbeknownst to me, to boldly carve their names into our wooden coffee table in the living room.
The etchings carved into that table stayed there for years but have now faded and are no longer visible. Sometimes my eyes still long to see a tiny remnant of those Soul Prints placed there by those small precious hands.
I call them Soul Prints because I believe these are the ways in which the physical world is worn by the Soul.
Photo Credit via Jenni Douglas
These are the ways in which the unseen can be seen, the intangible becomes tangible.
These are the symbols of Life living and Love loving.
A life of intention, awareness, and mindfulness will organically illuminate the ways in which opportunity manifests itself as experience in the Journey of the Soul.
Like the way the laugh lines which radiate from my beloveds eyes, deepened over time, reflect a joyful life marinated in ridiculous amounts of laughter and smiles. Oh, boy, have there been a lot of those!
Like the way our kitchen sink, brimming with dirty dishes, paints a picture of an intimately collaborated delicious and nutritious meal.
Like the way our messy house is synonymous to a creative, vibrant, and fluid living space.
Like the way our yard yet to be mowed mirrors a blissful day at the beach or a soul-soothing yoga class.
Perhaps the most challenging Soul Prints to appreciate are those reflected in my physical body. The tiny spider veins which lightly dance across my thighs, the extra weight Ive been carrying around for quite some time now, the age spots which are showing up unexpectedly in unexpected places, and the soft and persistent gentle bulge of my lower belly. However, through the years, my body has tirelessly provided my Soul the perfect vessel to experience all of life: childbirth, illness, sex, yoga, breathing, digesting – adapting and evolving in every moment to every feeling, every choice, and every condition. The imprints on my body remind me of where Ive been .and where I desire to now go.
And, yes, even in the voids in my life, the empty spaces which were once filled by someone very special, are just as purposefully and meaningfully imprinted as a reminder of how deeply and fullyI am capable of loving and being loved.
Just as our feet leave footprints in the earth, I believe our lives are rich with Soul Prints – the marks, the colorations, the knicks, the dents, the aromas, and the tastes of who we are. We may confuse them at times as something needing to be fixed or repaired. We may misunderstand them as burdensome or wrong. We may be tempted to pull out the sandpaper and fix the carvings in our coffee tables or color over the gray hairs which have weaved their way into our hair, striving to maintain a perfect home or body or career, all in an effort to portray a story of the way we think we should be, instead of the way that we really are.
I dont think the Soul is attached to our interpretations or choices. I think it will continue to experience through us, as us, whether we notice or not.
But I kind of like noticing and appreciating. It makes life even more sacred and more joyous.
Perhaps today you will notice your own Soul Prints
and smile, with gratitude, at your own story.