Writers, poets, troubadours, priests, teachers and lovers have written, talked of, or simply alluded to the soul.
Aristotle for instance, thought it was essential to how we lived our lives, while US comedian George Burns decreed that while it never showed up on X-Rays, it was definitely there.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling wrote:
“Whatever happens to your body, your soul will survive, untouched.”
But was much more definite in the Prisoner of Azkaban when she gave it the full welly of a definition:
“You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you’ll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no . . . anything. There’s no chance at all of recovery. You’ll just — exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever . . . lost.”
Marilyn Monroe on the other hand, knew the full value of a soul:
“Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty cents.”
Thomas Mann saw its lighter side when in the Magic Mountain, he wrote
“Laughter is a sunbeam of the soul.”
But poor old Vincent Van Gogh knew only the loneliness during his long dark nights:
“There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke.”
What does SOUL mean to you? Who has defined it best? Why not share with us either in your own words, or in those you love…
