Your life is so full of activities and tasks that need to be done, things you want to buy and people you need to take care of or keep happy. Most of the time you barely find time to eat and take care of bodily necessities. And you wonder why you are not happy or fulfilled.   Here is the answer. You are not happy or fulfilled because you don’t take the time to feel what you are doing in your life, to experience where you are in you life – you don’t feed your soul. You have so many actions in your life and so little actual living in you life. You need to take just a bit of time to feel the good things in it. This post explores how to nourish your soul to feel greater joy and happiness in your life.

What Is Your Soul?

Soul is such a difficult and, for some people, emotional word. You feel like you must have a soul but you don’t really know how to explain it. If you look it up in a dictionary you will find that there are many ways to define soul. It is the part of you that is immortal. It is the part of you that animates your body. It is a person’s total self, their being. Not only are there many definitions but each religion has its own interpretation of the soul.  For the purposes of this discussion, lets define the soul as the spiritual and moral part of you that is somehow separate from your mind. Your mind thinks and analyzes things and your soul feels and emotionally interprets things. By feeding your soul you let yourself truly experience the world around you and connect with it and the people in it.

What Does Your Soul Have To Do With It?

You are so bogged down with trying to achieve things and get things in your life. You get up in the morning and grab a cup of coffee, rush off to work, work through lunch, rush to the grocery store on the way home, grab your kids for there after school activities, throw something together for dinner (or get take out), rush through dinner and turn on the TV to “unwind”.

You fill your life with things and activities and ignore the most important things in your life, the small things that can bring you joy. These things give meaning to your life. They bring you a connection to life in the present. It is not just about the goal, though goals are important, it is about the path you take to get there. If you do not find joy in the process, then when you get to the end it has less meaning and feels flat.

Believe it or not all this rushing around doing things, does not truly satisfy your soul. By taking time to actually enjoy the things, people and places in our lives you not only enjoy where you are but the entire journey of getting there. It is important to truly enjoy some portion of your day, every day if you can, so you can appreciate where you are and how far you have come in you life.

How to Nourish Your Soul

So when you are looking for ways to nourish your soul you are looking for ways to gain joy in your life everyday. Taking time to enjoy the small things will make your days more joyful. There are so many ways to nourish your soul.

Try doing good things for other people

Helping others and sharing of yourself not only feels good but also make you feel abundant. Here are 5 ways you can do good things for others.

1. Donate things and money to a charity or organization. Donate books to your a library in a needy area. Bring old towels to the local ASPCA. It does not matter how much or how little, if you have extra then you have abundance.

2. Loan your money to others around the world. There are many sites on the internet that allow you to put money into an account and find people around the world that have projects that need funding. Maybe they need money to buy more goats or funds to buy more stock for their store. The money is paid back and then you can re-lend it. KIVA is one of these organizations. Even a small donation can make a big difference.

3. Leave people surprises. There is a little book called Happy Money that promotes an anonymous giving activity. Write an encouraging note on a stick-it. Take a little money, stick the stick-it to the money, roll it up and secure it with a rubber band. Then leave the money in some public place: A shelf in a grocery store, behind a book in the library. Then walk away and don’t look back. Imagine how you have brought a bit of joy to someone else’s life.

4. Donate your time. Even if you do not feel you have the money to contribute to a worthy cause, you can still donate your time. To that cause Walk dogs at the local humane society. Spend time with older people and listen to their stories. Sharing of your time will still make you feel more abundant.

5. Be nice to the people you meet in your life. Smile at people around you. You will be so surprised how many will respond to a simple smile. Pay for someone’s meal anonymously. Bring in flowers for someone you care about. Make someone else happy!

Try being good to yourself.

You are the person whose soul you are trying to nourish. What better way than being good to yourself. Here are some ways you can be good to yourself.

1. Practice one of many different breathing techniques to flood your body with oxygen and energy. You can live days without food or water but only minutes without oxygen – it is the most important to breather from your stomach. You can find many breathing exercises on the Internet. You must feel your stomach move up and down as you breathe.

2. Many people find it difficult to meditate. They find their mind racing and they end up thinking about stressful things. That’s OK – do it anyway! You can also find meditations with binaural or isochoric rhythms that help your mind enter the correct meditative states.

3. Soak in the tub or take a long shower. Make it a more memorable by using special soap and lotion afterwards.

Experience the world around you.

The world around you is truly a fascinating place, especially if you actually pay attention to it and experience it. Most of the time you rush around and don’t really pay attention to your environment. You just move through it. Spending time enjoying our where you are makes our whole day more enjoyable! Try these way to explore the world around you:

1. Take a walk outside. Usually you rush to your car and from your car to your place of work, and then back to your car and into a store. When was the last time you looked at the clouds in the sky or watched the sun rise or set. Take the time and see the beauty around you.

2. Take a drive to a place you haven’t been. Explore a bit. Drive down a new road just to see what is there. Go to a new town. Just explore you world.

3. Stop at a store you have never visited. Even if you are running errands around town, you can spend a few extra minutes exploring a place you have never been too. Maybe there is a new store in the local strip mall or a specialty grocery store you keep driving by. Go and explore it. You don’t have to buy anything, just look around and enjoy.

Take time to play

Playing is a highly underrated activity. Somehow once you reach adulthood, you stop allowing yourself to play. Playing is a natural release of energy and a way to explore yourself and interests outside of our work and responsibilities. Play allows us to grow in very different ways. Try these ways to add play to your day:

1. Explore a new hobby craft or art. There are always classes available for people to try new things. Stained glass, photography, ceramics, metal work – the possibilities are endless.

2. If you do not want to invest in a new craft or hobby try drawing, coloring or doodling.   These creative outlets do not cost much and can provide the same creative outlet.

3. Sing along with the radio. Take every opportunity to sing. While you drive. While you clean. In the shower. Singing always makes you feel good

4. Get up and dance! As with singing, dance and moving your body to music feels good to you and your body.

5. Try a new sport with your friends or family. Perhaps you know someone who can introduce you to racket ball or tennis. Go ice skating. Play Frisbee. Play with your kids. When was the last time you had a tea party! It does not have to cost a lot – just go out and play.