Soul Food by Layle Stephen-Anderson

SOUL FOOD                         

What sets up the need for soul food? The weather, our surroundings, or just how we feel at the present time?

‘Soul Food’ means different things to different people and this sense of, something missing can be what is lacking at this present time.

Perhaps it is the time of year, and as it is the beginning of the year, it is the time for introspection.   Look inwards and see what you can see.  Feel what you are aware of!

Perhaps it is also the turmoil of not knowing where to go now that Christmas has passed?   That time of being on the go to many parties, or just recovering and trying to think how you are going to pay those bills or your credit card?

Perhaps the usual family rows occurred over the past few months, or something else has knocked you off balance, or merely acknowledging it is actually about how you feel about yourself?

Sadly it is mid winter, early January as I write this and having been stuck in my own drama of the past week. I am feeling that I must write this down and try to understand the true meaning of ‘Soul Food.’ 

So, imagine it is pouring with rain outside and rather dark and the lights have to be on just to bring some warmth in the house yet it is 11.00 in the morning!  You have done one or two things to tidy up, or may be not. You are incapable for some reason of sitting down and doing some work.  You don’t have visitors this morning or today so it is a quiet time.  You wander around and you acknowledge this is not getting you any where. What is missing?   How about BALANCE?

Now where is BALANCE coming into SOUL FOOD, I hear you ask.  Quite simply because looking from another direction, ‘Soul Food’ is about balance and that is what we actually need!  It is something that reaches other parts of you, that other things cannot; just like that wonderful Heineken beer advertisement a few years back.  Do you remember?  I believe the medical profession would call this SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder.  The scourge of the Scandinavian Countries where, suicides at this time of the year are at their highest.

It is more than that though; it is the security and the support we all need at this time of the year.  It is not the retreat to watch mindless TV, but the actual warmth of family and friends, good conversation and being together. It can be about being wrapped in the warmth of a rug and a hot water bottle or snug under your duvet with a good book.   The fridge has your favorite food, a pan of rich delicious soup already prepared,  and just to acknowledging that hibernation sometimes is good for us.   Learn to use the time to just be.  Listen to that special music and maybe find the inspiration you need. Allow yourself that inner space, that inner child forgotten you know is there, and tucking it up, hugging yourself.

Use this time to day dream too.  The Japanese say day dreaming is good for us, because good ideas often come to fruition through day dreaming.  It is a form of planning.

For me, my special soul food is standing on a certain plateau here in North Cyprus and looking to the East towards where the sun rises.  It does not have to be early morning as the sun actually rises, but any time of the day.    On clear days you can see no less than 40 miles along the coast, following the curve of the land and mountain chain. 

There is something wonderful there. I try not to think there. I feel a sense of belonging, that is enough.  It feeds my inner child, inner woman and my inner being.  There is a longing at times to go home.  Home, where ever that may be…………….!  A longing that can be so overwhelming, that it can bring tears to the eyes.   I stand there and listen to the silence around me and feel the energy of Mother Earth, Mother Cyprus about me.  I just stand and acknowledge the Universe.  I can stand on the edge of that dream world, for time passes by  so quickly and I am just there…………………….

Usually a dog nuzzles my legs and I come back to the present with a start.   I see 20 minutes or more have lapsed.  Whatever this is, you may even call it a meditation, I feel totally revived and life is OK. I am reassured; I can start to live again.

You need to find out what your personal Soul Food is.  It maybe a hot bath with fragrant essences or a good book.  Plan your time so you can nurture yourself.  Yes, you are allowed to do this, because each one of us needs time to acknowledge and nurture the inner soul, our inner being.  The months of January and February are just that time. It is a time of hibernation.  Allow yourselves comfort food, it is re-assuring, reviving and essential to our modern existence.  Allow yourself to just be. Spring will soon be here and you will appreciate it all the more with a better balanced energy.

Layle Stephen-Anderson

Written early January2010.