I was listening to Jedidiah Jenkins’ book, Like Streams to the Ocean. I’ve read it several times, and I love it. This is my first listen and revisiting his work is nice. It encourages me to look at things happening in my life now and consider things I hadn’t in my first read-through.

In the book, he discusses many things, one of them being the concept of ego versus soul; the best way I could summarize his beautifully thought-out reflection is this:

Dance with the soul, not your ego.

He didn’t use that example, but it continued to come to my mind as he spoke of the ego holding us back, causing our minds to think ourselves out of things we want to do and think self-consciously. I do this all the time. Especially in public settings, I become acutely aware of my body and how it’s moving with each step, hand gesture, all of it. It’s really quite annoying.

He encourages readers to step out of their egos, stop worrying about how they look—silly, stupid, smart, sexy—and try to focus on how they feel—the general goodness of actions, interactions, and experiences.

Dance with the soul, not your ego.

I think this is the perfect mantra. When I thought of it, I imagined the word’s literal sense, which also fits the metaphorical. My husband and I take dance classes, and in them, we have some of the most fun we’ve ever had. We’re not great at it, but that doesn’t matter. We’re dancing together and not necessarily trying to be good at it. We’re detached from the ego. Instead, we enjoy each other and the movements, the music, the laughter, the connection. We’re out of our sometimes embarrassed, uneasy minds and into our souls.

I’m sharing this to encourage two things: one, read Like Streams to the Ocean by Jedidiah Jenkins; two, think of times when you felt comfortable, out of the self-conscious, and into the goodness. How do you think it fits with living in ego versus soul? How can you replicate the version which makes you feel best? How can you dance with the soul, not your ego?