The true value of who we are comes from our soul. No matter how much effort we put into taking care of our appearance, it is our soul that truly defines who we are.
It may seem obvious once it’s said, yet in the world we live in, we give so much importance to physical appearance and the image we project that we end up forgetting this truth.
In the end, what is the soul? What do I mean by “soul”?
It’s the thing we keep deep inside, the part of ourselves we often hide in today’s society, because differences stand out too much and are not encouraged. It’s what doesn’t fit into the single mold society gives us because it’s what truly defines us. It includes our feelings, our emotions, our experiences, our wounds, our memories… And it’s these very things that truly shape who we are.
Yet, when I look around me, everyone seems the same. The same routine, the same opinions, the same tastes, the same conversations, the same desires, the same clothes…
And still, we are all different. But we’ve been so conditioned to fit into the mold society imposes that we no longer see the differences.
This becomes even more striking when we choose to see things differently.
While watching people pass by, I decided not to only see what my eyes show me but to look deeper, trying to imagine their souls. I began mentally representing them as creatures, attached to each person’s back, each taking a different shape depending on the state of that person’s soul. Of course, since I don’t actually know these people, I simply imagined it…
And that’s when I felt a bit of fear because in seeing them this way, things became clearer.
Take, for example, a young child walking and humming. It’s easy to imagine a small dancing creature, in a soothing pastel blue, with a comforting, smiling face.
Now imagine a man in his forties, leaving work, standing straight with a rigid walk: you could easily picture a creature in light gray, with a sad, drooping face, almost void of emotion.
And if we picture a young woman, about thirty, with a bright face, wearing a pretty white dress with blue polka dots, calm and relaxed, we could just as easily imagine a dark-skinned creature, curled up in pain, even giving the impression of smelling unpleasant… No? That’s not what you’d picture? Why not?
Why couldn’t the man with the strict appearance have a sunny, joyful, fulfilled creature, almost humming? And why couldn’t the child have a bright red creature, full of anger and ready to attack any other creature in its path?
This creature is the representation of our soul. It’s not the image we project that defines us, but our soul. It’s the soul that shapes our decisions, our relationships, our actions, our conversations, our opinions… It follows us from birth to death, evolving, changing, and adapting throughout our life experiences. It is absolutely unique to each of us.
But then, if our soul were visible to everyone, what would mine look like right now?
Mine would be a dark gray creature, curled in on itself, hiding its face, looking exhausted but with a faint, shimmering light buried in the center of its body. I wouldn’t want people to see my creature as it is today. I wouldn’t want it to infect other creatures around me, or to make others feel sad for me or worse, pity me.
That’s why starting today, I want to spend more time focusing on my soul rather than my physical envelop. I want to nurture my soul and transform this creature into something peaceful and calm, radiant and generous, warm and able to help the other creatures around it. I want to set that shimmering light free.
At the end, that’s the only thing that doesn’t age and the only thing we’ll remember when we’ll be gone.
And you? Who are you?