M. Hawkins and Geoffery Moore

Dear Soul,

I’m bored just thinking about today.

Dear Life,

Boredom is nature’s way of saying, “Wake up and do something more exciting with your life! Forsake those two great hordes: the bores and the bored.”

Today, imagine that you’re a lightning rod that will attract, search out, and find what electrifies you. Then, ride the lightning to discover something, anything, that you can be passionate about. Find out what the life force of the universe wants you to do—and then do it with all your might.

So, are you ready to “sing the body electric”? No, it looks like your batteries need a little more charging. But don’t wait; get them charged now, before you bore yourself or some innocent bystander to death!

Today, I’ll live intensely—I’ll connect with my passion, even if just for a part of the day. I’ll find a way to go through life that has heart.

*The Dear Soul/Dear Life dialogs by J.M. Hawkins are adapted and used by permission. They are excerpted from his collection, Word From Soul City and were used in discussion groups across America in response to the Life That Loves to Happen seminars with Landon Saunders.

J. M. Hawkins and Geoffery Moore

Dear Soul,

I feel like a genie in an unrubbed lamp.

Dear Life,

By-and-by, that lamp of your soul will get rubbed the right way. Then you’ll be free to use the three wishes, which, in truth, you’ve been granted every day of your life. They are the three wishes of morning, noon, and night. Take these three wishes and have some fun with them. And be a little creative about it because that’s what keeps the old magic lamp rubbed—and keeps a little magic in your day.

To jump start that creative process…if you’re stuck in a rut—break out! If you’re stuck in a habit—break free! If you’re limited by a fixed way of thinking—if it’s fixed, break it! Morning, noon and night, look for the new, the unexpected, the surprising thought or possibility or response.

And soon, instead of being weighed down by the demands of the day, more and more you’ll be the master of the day. You’ll hear the Genie of the day laughing and saying, “Woo-ha-ha-ha! Master, your wish is my command!”

Today, I’ll begin to break out of my ruts by doing something new. I’ll begin to climb the ladder of new thoughts—begin to see new vistas, new responses, new possibilities for my life. I’ll be open to new ways to bring a little magic to my day, morning, noon and night. I’ve always wished to be more alive and now…today is the day!

*The Dear Soul/Dear Life dialogs by J.M. Hawkins are adapted and used by permission. They are excerpted from his collection, Word From Soul City and were used in discussion groups that met in cities across America in the 1990s and early 2000s in response to the Life That Loves to Happen seminars with Landon Saunders.

J. M. Hawkins & Geoffery Moore

Dear Soul,

I’m feeling a little down today. Lately, I think I’ve been in mourning over how much time I’ve lost in my life to things that, in the end, didn’t really matter. Could you just give me a few words for today? A little send off?

Dear Life,

How’s this? In any encounter with grief, be brief, be brave; the next, new moment is what you’ll save. Prepare the mind, reveal the heart. Take all your joy—let grief depart.

Dear Soul,

Care to expand on that?

Dear Life,

You may need a new personal myth. You’ve been operating as if you are the Hercules type—trying to “be all you can be.” But taking yourself that seriously can seriously over-stress most any heart.

Let’s try something a little more light-hearted. Imagine you’re more The Three Stooges type. Moe is your mind. Larry is your body. Curly is your spirit. They hurt each other because they can’t harmonize. But at least they stick together—and they’re good for a laugh. As a wise man has said, “The fool who persists in his folly shall become wise.”

Keep at it and you’ll at least wind up somewhere between The Three Stooges and The Three Wise Men. Oh, all right, your secret name can still be “Hercules”.

Today, in any encounter with grief, I’ll be brief, be brave. I’ll take what grief has to teach and move persistently along to the possibilities of the next new moment.

*The Dear Soul/Dear Life dialogs by J.M. Hawkins are adapted and used by permission. They are excerpted from his collection, Word From Soul City and were used in discussion groups that met in cities across America in the 1990s and early 2000s in response to the Life That Loves to Happen seminars with Landon Saunders.

Guest post by J. M. Hawkins

Dear Soul,

I want more out of my life.

Dear Life,

More! More! More! is the cry of miscalculation. Less than ALL will not bring you to elation. Settling for something more can be worse than settling for nothing, because those who have nothing still have room for the everything of the ALL—for a life that has found something to be ALL in for.

Look at it this way. Right now your life is a pileup. You pile up experiences, knowledge, wealth, but it never seems to be quite enough. You are always so intently tailgating that next little bit of gain that you’ll soon pile up on the highway of your life. If you were Cinderella, you’d tell the fairy godmother to come back later because you were about to really clean up.

Why do you keep falling into the trap of piling up the small when you could be ALL-in for life, for love, for joy—when you could be dancing at the Ball of the ALL? Shall we dance?

Today, I’ll hear the deep call of life to go beyond seeking more for my limited self; I’ll begin to move to the music of the all-joyful, all-compassionate, all-celebrating dance of my greater life. Today I’ll be All-in for life—I’ll dance at the Ball of the ALL.

 *The Dear Soul/Dear Life dialogs by J.M. Hawkins are adapted and used by permission. They are excerpted from his collection, Word From Soul City and were used in discussion groups that met in cities across America in the 1990s and early 2000s in response to the Life That Loves to Happen seminars with Landon Saunders.