On a recent family vacation to Maine, I learned
some important lessons about the value of depth. We went on an amazing
tour with Diver Ed, and while we stayed in the boat, Diver Ed dove into the
cold Atlantic Ocean to share with the tour some of the amazing sea creatures
that live below the surface.
Diver Ed is no ordinary diver. He is the most
excited and engaging person you could ever want to meet. His passion for
getting below the surface of the water and sharing with his tour participants
what he finds is infectious. For a few moments, I was so excited by his findings
that I thought I might want to also put on a dry suit (a special type of wet
suit for cold water). Then, I reconsidered, as my passion does not lie in the
depths of the ocean, but rather in the depths of the soul. There, too, are amazing
things to discover. Diving into the soul can be both dangerous and rewarding,
but when we come back to the surface after times of reflection, we develop a
new appreciation for who we are.
Diver Ed talked a lot about how he would find
different critters living at different depths. I think this is also true of our
soul. As we move deeper into our understanding of our soul, we come to know
more of who we are and the complexity of what makes us up. This is why we
connect so deeply with incredible artists. They have come to terms with the
depths of their soul and express that through their art. The end result is
moving and immediately knowable. When we live life from the depths of our soul,
we give off a sense of authenticity with which others connect.
Going deep is something that we often fear, but
when we have a tour guide like Diver Ed, we can be encouraged to embrace the
discovery of who we have been made to become. I personally have been on a
transformational journey and am still on one in which I am connecting my life
with who I have been created to be. A big part of this transformation has been
in training to become a counselor at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. I
have had the chance to explore both psychology and theology. I have examined
both what others understand of these subjects and what I understand of these
subjects. Additionally, my experiences with a unique and special spiritual
direction program that’s directed at attending to the soul have helped me to
prune away unnecessary baggage and grow more into the person I have been
designed to be.
What I have found to be true is that our
familiarity bias that calls us to leave well enough alone limits our ability
and desire to go deeper. Yet that is the very thing that can pull us out of the
situations we find ourselves in and no longer want to be in. Becoming
comfortable with soul exploration will have a transformative impact on your
life. It will reorient some, if not all, of your goals or reasons for doing
things. Life reorientation is a risk we all know intuitively exists and often
stops us in the tracks of transformation. The great mystery about soul
exploration is that, as you are making new decisions about your life, the old
ways no longer seem relevant. Leaving behind what once was important is no
longer a big deal.
Let’s come back up to the surface of soul
exploration. By engaging in soul exploration, you will begin to reorient the
way in which you approach life and those matters that cause you the most
difficulty. Be it in your marriage, your finances, friendships, or work, as you
enter into soul transformation, your perspective and approach begin to shift in
ways that allow you to engage life in a more meaningful way.
To go further in your exploration, I recommend
checking out Creating a
Rule of Life by Steve Macchia.
If you are ever in Bar Harbor, Maine, and you have young children, I
highly recommend Diver Ed's
Dive-In Theater.
Feel free to give me a call to talk more at 980-275-1627.
Ed Coambs
Edited by Reena Arora of Arora Media, connect on Facebook
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