I am not a person who naps. BUT… sometimes I think about taking one. It can be easy to think that your tiredness from day to day is from having a full life. Cause likely it is a full life. Work. Friends. Family. Household Stuff. Taking care of your own needs. If you dig deeper, maybe improving your diet or making more time for exercise would help the tiredness. Plus there are times when a nap and simply pausing would be just the thing to rejuvenate mind and body.

However, what do you do when you have paused or napped (my hubby is a champion napper) or maybe you have delegated or ditched things like a champ and still feel tired af? I have experienced myself and seen in others that too often  physical tiredness alone is not why drag our feet to a work meeting. It isn’t always emotional tiredness that prevents us from feeling excited. Simple mental tiredness doesn’t always explain why our brains feel like over stretched taffy.

Maybe your soul is tired.

NOTE: If the word soul doesn’t resonate with you, try the word Spirit or Essence or Consciousness instead.

How do we know if our soul is tired? Well, first when was the last time you tended to it or fed it.

First, let’s agree to a common definition of Soul. Soul [essence, spirit, consciousness] is the part of you connected to all that is both in this current moment and the potential for all of what could be. It is the part of you moved by music and then filled up by it. The part of you that exhales in wonder at the beauty of nature and then embraced by its simplicity. It is the part of you that is connected to the whole universe (aka the infinite).

If your soul is tired, I recommend focusing on what would nurture your deepest essence versus figuring out what is depleting it. To discover how to feed your soul is to learn what your unique infinite being desires, enjoys, and what brings you the deepest inspiration. You might have to extend your memory back to a time when you lived more instinctually (childhood) and granted yourself a freedom of full and authentic expression. Below is an exercise to help you learn how to tend to, nurture, and feed your soul [essence, spirit, consciousness].

Discover Your Soul

  1. Where in your life do you feel most like yourself?
  2. What hobbies, activities, or things you do where you are able to fully immerse yourself and allow your brain to take a break?
  3. What inspires or moves you?

Tending to or Feeding Your Soul:

  1. What experiences and activities leave you truly alive and nurtured?
  2. What around you delights you; surprises you; supports you in embracing the goodness of life?
  3. What are you doing, seeing, saying, or experiencing when you feel most comfortable in your own skin?

Here is what I discovered about me:

My soul is curious, sensual, excited, warm, loves depth and connection, enjoys stillness and quiet, and loves to learn.

What I can do to tend to and feed my soul:

  • Find time to be alone and be still
  • Be in nature
  • Seek out opportunities to experience beauty – go to the art museum, see live music I love,
  • Allow myself to do one thing at a time so I can fully experience it
  • Plan to see new places or do new things
  • Have social time with friends where we can go deep

Okay your turn. Once you can identify your soul, start thinking of feeding it like taking supplements. Take your multi and figure out when you can go be in nature this week.

As we step into Fall, I hope your soul will be well fed and nourished.