Soul Searching

The officer replied, “2,200 souls on board, sir”.

A few months ago my husband and I found ourselves watching the movie Titanic.  At one point in the film, after the ship hit the iceberg, there is a scene where the Captain realizes the fate of the boat.  He asks a fellow crew member how many people are on board. The officer replies, “2,200 souls on board, sir”.

His response really struck me.  I told Matt how interesting I found the officer’s word choice.  He didn’t say passengers or people, he said souls. He referred to the people on board as souls.  I thought, how rarely do I hear anyone refer to a person or people as souls. At least while they are living.

Before writing this article, I did a google search: “how many souls on titanic”.  Many articles showed up discussing the lives that were lost, using the word “souls”.  I then did another search.  I changed “titanic” to “world trade center”.  The first two articles didn’t have the word soul in them, and the third article was titled: “One World Trade Center: how New York tried to rebuild its soul…”.

The first article that even mentioned a soul was talking about a city and not a person!

Every day I read post titles that discuss improving and maintaining physical and mental health in mainstream media.

Do we as a people ever think about our souls – let alone nourish them? This post has me wanting to ask so many questions.

I guess you could say, I’m soul searching.

Do you believe you have a soul?

Do you think we should care for our souls as well as the souls of our loved ones?

Do you think our generation neglects our souls?

How do you nourish your soul?

What can I do to nourish my soul and the souls around me?