Advice is in short supply today but it is always there, like that niggly piggly thought that hovers at the back of all your thoughts, just waiting for the right time to come out. I read and feel my readers questions and I know life is not always what it is cracked up to be, is it? Disappointments, confusion, broken hearts, frustrations, harshness, spilled crackers, and cat spray on your new sofa are often more present than that elusive thing called happiness. If you were lucky enough to come from a long line of crazies, and it does have it’s benefits, happiness might be just out of reach and you will never touch it.

We do it to ourselves. You know that right?

Sometimes we need to turn ourselves inside out and wash our souls. Soul touching is the elixir- the sweet nectar for feeling good, at least for a brief moment. It’s a cleansing routine that I love and recharges you and me from the inside out. You could go to the gym and work out hard, pounding surfaces, sweating bullets, watching your feet spread and get fatter from the persistent pounding. You could take a long walk which I often do, but sometimes you have to do the hokey pokey and turn yourself inside out to settle into you.

What does that mean? It means soothe your soul, and take your focus off your physical body and racing mind. It’s not so much about mindfulness as it is about indulging in what speaks to you at the soul level. Meditation quiets the body which I love and I practice it every day. But books, well they speak to me. We have conversations. They are my teacher, my soul mate, my lover, my companion, my travel guide, my best friend, my journal, and at times, my mother.

The routine of reading means I can shut down and tune out the shit coming my way. It is a place to duck without getting sprayed by flying dung which there seems to be a lot of lately. I don’t stick to a genre, but I am picky about a well written book. If it is not well written it pisses me off, to put it bluntly. And, because I am a writer and I appreciate how difficult it is to write a good novel, I read every book I start. No book is left behind, even if I hate it so much that I swear and curse at it every time I pick it up. It is one of my rules. To give respect to a craft that is not taken seriously anymore. Besides there is a truth, a word, or a nugget of other thought to be found in every book. Even if it is one word. Do you know what a “sook” is? See what I mean?

My brother gave me three books for my birthday. We have the same literary tastes and one in particular resonated with my mood. When that happens I keep it close to my physical body. It is a weird habit I have, but this is what I mean about soothing one’s soul. If fabric spoke to my soul I would gently rub it up and down my arm, and sniff it to let in the ethereal vibes. I might let it sit under my armpit for a moment. Don’t ask me why. I just know it would feel good, which is the whole reason we indulge our soul. With books I leave it in my little knapsack and carry it around with me after I have read it. I leave it on my nightstand, and can’t quite bring myself to put it on the “read” shelf. I steal glances at it, and smile as if we share a secret. And we do. It talked to my soul and my soul confided in it. It revealed it’s secrets which are many, and honestly too mundane to share.

It is not happy feet but a happy soul.

Advice for today? Ask what is your elixir for your soul. Find what replaces me for a minute or two. It will never be permanent but it will be profoundly satisfying like a deep tantric orgasm that shudders throughout your entire body and leaves you completely satiated.