An almond seed with sprouts that I found near my parents' farm house. The pollination of California's almonds is the largest annual managed pollination event in the world, with close to one million hives (nearly half of all beehives in the USA) being trucked in February to the almond groves.
The word soul comes from old English word “sawol” which used to stand for “spiritual and emotional part of a person, animate existence.” Sometimes said to mean originally “coming from or belonging to the sea,” because that was supposed to be the stopping place of the soul before birth or after death.
The Arabic word for soul is Ruh or Ruah (pronounced rhhhhoooooooooo). It is the seed within ourselves that we must develop and nurture. It involves giving and learning. My father has always said that the reward for developing your Ruh is in this lifetime –you don’t have to wait to go to heaven or an after life to see what you are reaping for what you are sowing. It happens in this lifetime NOW.
“Saleheen” is an Arabic word which means potential of our soul, often incorrectly translated in English as “nobleman”—but it literally means those who have realized their potential during their lifetime will live forever because through them a Higher Consciousness (call it by whatever name) lives eternally.
Row of almond orchids in bloom before bearing fruit...
It is human to feel this urge to grow. To what extent we cultivate this innate desire which promotes personal development is up to us. How we whither in complacency varies from person to person. And developing one’s potential does not necessitate switching careers per se. One can be a teacher or a doctor or singer or plumber for over twenty years and participate in transformation within the realms of the profession and on a personal level.
No personal development makes for a very unhappy restless human and not the kind of restlessness which makes one seek uncharted territories within ourselves or those laid out in the world. We don’t realize that the seed of dysfunction is sown when we opt for the path of least resistance. The opposite of ‘path of least resistance’ is not necessarily strife and constant struggle and neither does being content mean you are choosing complacency. Every moment we make a choice: evolution or entropy. When we hide or resist our potential, however we define it, in whatever aspects, it eats us raw. We stop living and just…exist…I don’t think we were meant to just exist…even if one does not believe in a Supreme Being…
We are all here to give something to this world but also to develop ourselves. There is no hall of fame for this development. It does not necessarily mean we are always happy or that we carry on without conflicts or that we always understand. And this development can’t be achieved by external credentials (degree, promotion, praise, rituals). Self-actualization is our responsibility. No amount of self-help shows or books or therapy alone can substitute for the choices we have to make to implement living and not breathing.
Sometimes it is indeed a simultaneous endeavor, and sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t mutually exclusive, but we can’t serve own own potential by merely serving others.
Somewhere between balancing the desire to remain grounded and striving to bloom lies the fruit of our existence.
Related posts:
- Following your heart and sacrifice I mentioned in the story “The End” how a man named...
- Part 2 of 4: The Matrix Was Not Just A Movie. Where? What? When? How? Next? Shedding light onto the most recent...
- Authenticity Redux The five articles below came from five different sources. All today!...
You are a beautiful Ruah my friend.
“We are all here to give something to this world but also to develop ourselves. There is no hall of fame for this development. It does not necessarily mean we are always happy or that we carry on without conflicts or that we always understand. And this development can’t be achieved by external credentials (degree, promotion, praise, rituals). Self-actualization is our responsibility. No amount of self-help shows or books or therapy alone can substitute for the choices we have to make to implement living and not breathing.”
Annie,
Thank you for this. Your words remind my heart to “implement living” even after a few stumbles and the occasional wish to stop.
Beautiful photos too!
I am so glad you left me a comment so I could discover your wondrous world.
Cheers,
Sarah
“Somewhere between balancing the desire to remain grounded and striving to bloom lies the fruit of our existence.” It’s something we struggle with on a daily basis, wanting adventure while also playing it safe. Makes life interesting!