Soul Nudge

       I stared, gawked, and marveled at The Berkshire mountains, ablaze with the hues of orange, yellow, red, auburn, burnt umber, and dozens of other gradients only found in the palette of autumn foliage. Color is like a lover to me, and I adore my very personal and intimate relationship with her. Like music, she indeed stimulates my intellect, but, far more profoundly, she reaches directly into my heart and magically touches it. Color excites and ignites me. And on this particular October afternoon at Kripalu, it felt as though the deeper I looked into the colorful hills, the deeper I was looking into my own soul.
       The grandeur and beauty of this natural spectacle created a timeless sense of awe, and an experience of intense presence. And yet, as true as that may have been, I was aware of something else going on inside of me. As involved in this deeply moving experience as I was, something else stirred in me. There was a yearning, underneath the bright, beautiful, explosive colors bursting within my heart. Something else, besides the countless burning shades of yellow, orange, and red, was calling to me.
       The deeper I felt myself sinking into the experience of foliage, the deeper I connected to this yearning. So I stayed with it until the nature of its depth revealed itself to me. What I came to was a powerful and sensual longing to know this experience deeper; to understand it more completely. And to share it. With the rest of the world.
       Over the course of the weekend, with the help of David Harshada Wagner, who lead the workshop I attended, I came to know that this deep longing is like a nudge from my soul. It reminds me of what is most important to me. It reminds me of what I need to continue to build my life around. This yearning reminds me that, as much as I may be doing that now, I need to be doing it even more. With greater commitment, fierceness, persistence, and intensity. The yearning is there to remind me that, as well as I may think I’m doing, I’m still not doing it enough. Hence the yearning.   
       The soul nudge alerts me to that which stirs deepest inside, and is as yet unfulfilled. The longing illuminates the work yet to be done, the dreams that need to be more deeply ventured into, of the gifts yet to be given, or perhaps just given more of. My soul is calling out to me that whatever I’m giving to my life, I need to be giving more. Lots more. Because this yearning I felt was like a hunger I’ve never experienced. Whatever I think I’m feeding my soul, it is not enough.  
       Experiences like these are like a spiritual GPS, directing me where my path lays, pointing to the very nature of my contributions, and showing me what I am here to do. And what I am here to do is delve ever deeper into the essence of my own life experiences and share that. Through my own exploration, through my own commitment to more fully know, more fully understand, and more fully honor the truest and deepest nature of myself and my life experience, and through all the delicious, creative ways I share that, I know that I am here to move people, to impact people, to touch people, to serve people. To paraphrase a song, “That Is How I Do It”.  
       And the more full throttle I live my own unique purpose, the greater chance I have at empowering others to do the same for themselves. I more I live my life doing what I am here to do, the more I encourage people to know the depth and power and life force of their truest selves, of their own unique experiences, and to more vibrantly and passionately express that, share that, live that.
       Anyway, that was my weekend. How was yours?

 ©2014 Clint Piatelli, MuscleHeart LLC, and Red F Publishing. All rights reserved.