My mother had an atlas that intrigued me because the area north of Alaska was marked “unexplored.” This was no ancient tome. When I was a child it was less than twenty years old. Even my 1952 Encyclopedia Britannica says, “the successful exploration of the polar basin has yet to be undertaken.” That was then. Is there anything still unexplored seventy years later? Maybe the human soul.

By soul I mean that non-physical aspect of us that, along with the physical, makes us who we are. There is more to us than meets the eye even if you use a microscope. We are memory, imagination, emotion, will, intellect and a whole lot more. While we can see the effects of the soul in the actions we take, the soul itself is not only invisible, but often incomprehensible. We have only the barest understanding of our soul. The only being that understands us completely is God.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say we can understand ourselves only by trying to understand the even greater mystery of God. How do we do that? With study, introspection, meditation, and contemplative prayer. With discussion and silence. With holding on tight and with letting go. With intention and with surprise.

Above all we understand God and ourselves by love, by loving and being loved. By the love of God and love of others and love of self. Don’t let love go unexplored in your life, for in it you will discover God and yourself. Love and you will know your soul.

Read Ephesians 3:17-19 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne