‘We have come so far and so fast, but now it’s time to stop and let our souls catch up with us.’Â
This was a saying I came across during my time as a hospice chaplain. It was attributed to Bedouin people who would stop to rest and wait at an oasis during the long passage across the desert.
It reminds me of the wise men travelling on camels, following the star before them with their calling to welcome the new king who had been born. They must have had to stop and rest even when they just wanted to press on, as the star would not be visible during the heat of the day.
Life happens. It can happen to us, as we constantly react to its many competing pressures and demands, trying to hold ourselves together, making life happen along with our work, our families and friendships – and church life, too.
We can get out of touch with our inner self, and lose our perspective and direction. We can go so far, so fast, that we need time to stop and let our souls catch up with us; time and space to reflect, and courage to ask the tricky questions:
Am I going in the right direction?
Am I paying attention to who and what is important?
What might I need to let go or to change?Â
What if the kings had just carried on, unsure of where they were going, till the humps on their camels dried up and they collapsed under them?
We need to stop, wait, rest, reflect, renew and resource ourselves.
We have to discern the path we’re on, where we may need to change direction to bring more balance and wholeness into our own lives, living from our own well-watered, centred self where our souls are at home.
Share your thoughts
How do you respond to Hilary’s encouragement to stop, wait, rest, reflect, renew and resource yourself, particularly this close to Christmas?
I find the idea of the soul catching up with us very helpful. I often use this concept in my hospice chaplaincy. Those keeping vigil, perhaps for days, with an unresponsive loved one often ask, “Why are they still here?” My response is often about the need to trust in God’s timing and that the dying person, and we with them, are waiting for their soul, like their body, to be ready for the journey. When that happens death will happen.
This has felt instinctively the right thing to say and now I am indebted to Hilary for a background to my intuitive response and something I can pass on.