[Seek] Heart Melters and Soul Soothers

[Advent 8]

When life gets challenging, sometimes it helps to pause and take stock of all the moments in your life that melted your heart or soothed your soul. Reliving those feelings can make all the difference in your experience of the present.

- When your child calls you Mama (or Daddy) for the first time ...whether it's your baby's first word or your previously non-verbal autistic child's first "Mama" or your adopted child's first utterance of your parental designation, it melts your heart every time.

- There's nothing quite as soothing as a child falling asleep on you - whether it's your newborn sleeping on your chest, heartbeat to heartbeat or your teenager leaning their head on your shoulder while watching a late night movie and falling asleep - the connection never fails to be soul-soothing.

- The words, "We have found a diagnosis." Although this may not seem at first glance to have anything to do with soothing one's soul, after years of pain - or years of misdiagnosis - those words can bring relief like no other, even if the news isn't good. There is a name for it, and if it has a name, hopefully it has a treatment. In those five words lives hope, and hope is a balm for all troubles.

- Arriving at that place where your spirit soars and your mind and body can rest. You know that place. It's different for all of us - for some it's a room in our house, a resting place along the path of our favorite hike, our childhood home, or the sanctuary of a chapel in the woods.

- Seeing the joy on someone's face when they accomplish something they've been working hard at - whether it's first steps, a theatrical performance or dance recital, a job promotion, or simply learning a new skill, that beaming face never fails to turn your heart to mush.

- Accomplishing something you were unsure you could do or finishing something into which you put a lot of work and a lot of heart. There is nothing like a sense of accomplishment to nourish your soul.

- Being in the moment and knowing it. That feeling that time is slowing, everything is in sharp focus, and you feel at one with Life, connected to Everything and Everyone, and life couldn't be any better.

- The moment your baby takes their first breath; the moment after you propose to the love of your life or are proposed to; the moment you see someone after a length of time.  That moment when your heart and time, stand still. That expectant moment that makes all the difference. That moment of pure joy as you come to the realization of how precious that person is to you.

- Realizing that a friend is more family than friend, and that they feel the same way about you. Feeling accepted and celebrated by someone exactly as you are.

What are the moments in your life that melt your heart and soothe your soul?