Soul Food

Souls too, like rivulets and plants, need a different kind of rain: hope, faith, a reason to live. When this did not come to pass, everything in that soul died, even if the body went on living; and people could say: "Here in this body there was once a man."

-The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho

Hope, faith, and a reason to live are food for the soul. Can a man truly live without all of these or with only one or two? I believe that he cannot.

HOPE is change. A man can hope for a better life, a better future, a partner to spend the rest of his life with, a good job, friends, a supportive family, a place on a sports team, and the list can go on and on. What does hope give man? Hope gives man something to look forward to and something to work on. It means something more than just dreams. It is active and constantly changing as life changes. Hope gives meaning to life by providing man with a sense movement and change for the better. Man without hope is barren. He feels there is no future with him. That he is destined to be the same person always and forever--never changing.

FAITH is mysterious. A man can have faith in his brother's words, God, the company he is working for, his family, a bishop or religious leader, and anything man sees fit to have faith in, but man does not fully understand it. What does faith give man? Faith gives man a greater knowledge and understanding of the divine. It shows beauty and greatness in the simplicity of life. It gives man trust in another person or God and allows man to work directly with them. Faith is also constantly changing and developing into something bigger and better. Faith is mysterious because it shows the simplicity in life, yet it also shows the greatness. How can it do both? That is what makes in mysterious. Faith gives meaning to life by providing man with knowledge of God and trust in God and other people. If man does not have faith, he doesn't look to the greater part of world including the spiritual. He does not trust his family, friends, and people in general. He will most likely think that he knows everything, when in reality he knows nothing.

A REASON TO LIVE is purpose. A man can have a reason to live by gaining passions, family, friends, work, love, school, and many other aspects of life. What does a reason to live give man? It gives man a sense of purpose and duty. It also gives man a reason to dedicate his life to something he loves. A reason to live pushes man to great heights and helps man develop into a better person. Man continues to work and improve upon his reason to live and develops a better life. A reason to live gives meaning to live by giving man a purpose in life that can make him truly happy. Without a reason to live, man has no meaning in life. He doesn't have duty or purpose to live. Man would only be on earth to sit and watch the grass grow, but even that gives him a reason to live. He would have no duty or purpose on earth.

Man can only truly live if he has all of three of these. These things feed the soul and give it life. As the soul grows and expands, man moves closer to gaining his divine potential. This achievement of taking the necessary steps to divine potential provides man with happiness in the good, bad, hard, and easy times. This, however, is only done because the soul is well fed and can withstand what is thrown at it. When you feed your soul, it is like a reservoir of water. The more you feed it, the more full it will be. Then when the trials and tribulations come, part of the reservoir is drained. But if man has fed his soul with the proper food, the tough time will pass and man will survive and continue in happiness in his life. If, however, he did not feed his soul the proper food, he will have to start all over again and regain his testimony to fill the reservoir of his soul again. Man needs HOPE, FAITH, and A REASON TO LIVE to feed his soul and actually live life.