The creation of a soul
I was listening to a radio program the other day while driving and did not have an opportunity to make a note of the source. At any rate, someone suggested that John Keats posited the idea that humans must create their soul. I had not previously heard this Keats quote. When I googled it , I found a reference to a letter he wrote to his brother and sister-in-law during the period of February 14 to May 23 1819. He is quoted as saying, “Do you not see how necessary a World of Pains and Troubles is to school an Intelligence and make it a soul? A place where the heart must feel and suffer in a thousand diverse ways! Not only is the Heart a Hornbook, It is the Minds Bible, …
This led me to thinking about the etiology of the word soul. Quora.com suggests that the word soul derives “from the Old English sawol, which in turn came from the Gothic Salwala. These words have “Roughly the same meaning (the principle of life if man or animals).”
Theologians and philosophers have debated whether all animals or just humans have souls. Thomas Aquinas posited that all animals have souls but only humans have immortal souls.
The reader may now be asking if I am again running off to another largely academic argument which has little to do with the important issues which face the ordinary person. Is it only theologians and philosophers who have the luxury of indulging in such esoteric discussions or debates? Perhaps, but it seems to me that the suggestion of Keats concerning the creation or perhaps experience of the soul is well worth the attention of all of us. I am going to be so bold as to suggest that Keats is correct in assuming that not only “a World of Pains and Troubles” is necessary to “school an intelligence and make it a soul” but that one must allow oneself to experience that pain and troubles at a deep level . Avoidance of the emotional experience of pain and troubles is as old as the breath which first brought life into humans and other animals. Yet, for many thousands of years a majority of humans were so immersed in the reality of survival that pain and troubles was not to be avoided. This is still true for many. Yet, perhaps for a variety of reasons it is possible for many of us humans to avoid facing our pain and troubles with alcohol, other drugs, sex, shopping, new cars, houses, professions, food and a host of other alternatives which brings spurts of temporary relief.
It does not take a licensed counselor or other human service professional to know that it is only when we face our fears, trauma related pains, heartaches and other painful issues that we can experience an intimate relationship with ourselves, other people and the rest of the world. It is only within that intimacy that we can experience a sense of joy and a sense of belonging. Belonging allows for breath. There is a reason that we hold our breath when we feel overcome or overwhelmed with pain. It is only when we allow that breath that we exist as more than an empty shell.
Although scientific studies now question if the absence of an identifiable breath defines the moment of death, we all agree that in a very real sense breath equals life. A shallow breath does not allow us to be fully present to ourselves or others. The soul is not present.
When we run from our pain and troubles we are disconnected and, thus, so not exist or perhaps we merely exist but do not live.
We now know that healing from the trauma of combat, abuse, and addiction requires that one face the details and the depth of the pain in order for healing and thus life to begin. One might call this process the birth of the soul.
Written June 3, 2019
Jimmy F. Pickett
coachpickett.org
I was listening to a radio program the other day while driving and did not have an opportunity to make a note of the source. At any rate, someone suggested that John Keats posited the idea that humans must create their soul. I had not previously heard this Keats quote. When I googled it , I found a reference to a letter he wrote to his brother and sister-in-law during the period of February 14 to May 23 1819. He is quoted as saying, “Do you not see how necessary a World of Pains and Troubles is to school an Intelligence and make it a soul? A place where the heart must feel and suffer in a thousand diverse ways! Not only is the Heart a Hornbook, It is the Minds Bible, …
This led me to thinking about the etiology of the word soul. Quora.com suggests that the word soul derives “from the Old English sawol, which in turn came from the Gothic Salwala. These words have “Roughly the same meaning (the principle of life if man or animals).”
Theologians and philosophers have debated whether all animals or just humans have souls. Thomas Aquinas posited that all animals have souls but only humans have immortal souls.
The reader may now be asking if I am again running off to another largely academic argument which has little to do with the important issues which face the ordinary person. Is it only theologians and philosophers who have the luxury of indulging in such esoteric discussions or debates? Perhaps, but it seems to me that the suggestion of Keats concerning the creation or perhaps experience of the soul is well worth the attention of all of us. I am going to be so bold as to suggest that Keats is correct in assuming that not only “a World of Pains and Troubles” is necessary to “school an intelligence and make it a soul” but that one must allow oneself to experience that pain and troubles at a deep level . Avoidance of the emotional experience of pain and troubles is as old as the breath which first brought life into humans and other animals. Yet, for many thousands of years a majority of humans were so immersed in the reality of survival that pain and troubles was not to be avoided. This is still true for many. Yet, perhaps for a variety of reasons it is possible for many of us humans to avoid facing our pain and troubles with alcohol, other drugs, sex, shopping, new cars, houses, professions, food and a host of other alternatives which brings spurts of temporary relief.
It does not take a licensed counselor or other human service professional to know that it is only when we face our fears, trauma related pains, heartaches and other painful issues that we can experience an intimate relationship with ourselves, other people and the rest of the world. It is only within that intimacy that we can experience a sense of joy and a sense of belonging. Belonging allows for breath. There is a reason that we hold our breath when we feel overcome or overwhelmed with pain. It is only when we allow that breath that we exist as more than an empty shell.
Although scientific studies now question if the absence of an identifiable breath defines the moment of death, we all agree that in a very real sense breath equals life. A shallow breath does not allow us to be fully present to ourselves or others. The soul is not present.
When we run from our pain and troubles we are disconnected and, thus, so not exist or perhaps we merely exist but do not live.
We now know that healing from the trauma of combat, abuse, and addiction requires that one face the details and the depth of the pain in order for healing and thus life to begin. One might call this process the birth of the soul.
Written June 3, 2019
Jimmy F. Pickett
coachpickett.org
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