The Tibetan monk who performed my marriage ceremony is known for his “soul paintings”. He draws what he sees in the soul of the person who is inspiring the painting, and he starts each drawing by outlining the thumbprint and working around that basic shape. Normally these drawings are then painted and gifted.
At my wedding, we had a scrapbook for well-wishers. On one of those loving pages of nostalgia, the Lama gifted me with a doodled rendition of my soul. My thumbprint is the center of the flower.
My soul.
At the time I remember feeling that there was something very familiar about this doodle, something about it that captured the essence of my heart. It was significantly less… elegant… than the soul paintings of others that I had seen, but it seemed strikingly appropriate for me.
Now– after struggles, drama, trials, and tragedies– I use this image as a sort of vision board or soul compass, in hopes that it will point me back to the place I once was.
I am on a journey, walking carefully back towards a soul firmly rooted in love, peace, and joy– and, in the meantime, I rejoice. Because, through it all, my soul has never once stopped laughing!