The Watering Hole Blog

Where Are You Soul Searching

street lamp

Are You Soul-Searching in the Right Place?

Image by StockSnap on Pixabay

“When faced with a decision, choose the path that feeds your soul.”

– Dorothy Mendoza Row

I came across a powerful story in a book a few months ago…but heck if I can remember which book! At any rate, I have found myself thinking about the story from time to time since then, so I wanted to explore it further in this blog.

Here is the story:

Late one night, a man was looking for something on the ground beneath a lamp post. He had his head down and seemed to be searching for something he’d lost. Around and around the lamp post he walked, determined to find whatever it was he was looking for.

Along came an older man, who watched him from a distance for awhile, then finally went up and asked him what he was looking for…and did he perhaps want any help?

“I’m looking for the key to my house,” the younger man replied.

“Oh,” said the older man. “So you think you must have lost it somewhere around here, then?”

The younger man shook his head and frowned. “No! I didn’t lose it here. I’m pretty sure it’s on the kitchen table at home…but now I’ve locked myself out!”

Now it was the older man’s turn to frown and shake his head, baffled. “Hang on a sec,” he said, just to clarify he’d heard correctly, “so you’re saying…you’re pretty sure your house key is at home on the kitchen table, and yet you’re still out here, looking for it?”

“Yes!” cried the younger man. “That’s exactly right.”

The older man shook his head, even more baffled. Not wanting to appear rude, he smiled at the younger man then asked this rather obvious question: “So if you pretty much know your key is at home, then WHY are you looking out here for it?”

The younger man threw back his head, laughing at the ridiculousness of the question, then looked at the older man. “I’m looking for it out here,” he said, waving his hand toward the streetlamp, “because this is where the light is!”

“I see,” said the older man, realizing the futility of trying to convince the younger man of the obvious. “Well then, I’ll leave you to it.”

Then the older man wandered off into the night, as the younger man resumed his increasingly frantic search for his lost house key.

Hmmm…so here’s a question for you:

Might there be something - an answer to an important personal question perhaps - that you have been searching for…in places you know, deep down, you are NEVER going to find it? Click To Tweet

As ludicrous as that sounds, I don’t think it’s uncommon.

How often do we find ourselves looking in well-lit areas – such as social media perhaps, or the bottom of a bottle, or the fridge, or the advice of another – for answers that can only be found within the beautiful depth of our own soul?

Might the lost key – the answer – we are searching for be right at home where we left it…on the metaphorical kitchen table? If so, the good news is: although we may have locked ourselves out, that is only temporary.

Break a window if we must…but our soul is always there, waiting patiently for our return. All we have to do is find the courage to get quiet, go within, and listen.

Namaste.

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Maryanne Pope is the author of “A Widow’s Awakening.” She also writes screenplays, playscripts and blogs. She is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and a co-founder of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. To receive Maryanne’s blog, “Weekly Words of Wisdom,” please subscribe here.

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