* It’s not actually blue in color but rare, as in blue moon
Before I tell you about watching this month’s blue supermoon rise over Lake Michigan, I have to gush about what’s been happening at Deep Soul Strengths.
When I moved my newsletter to Substack, I had no idea how much fun it would be to connect with readers (you!) in a way that’s impossible through email. Already we’ve been having rich discussions in the comments section below each article. I’m even hearing about people conversing offline about deep soul topics as well!
Truthfully, I’m shy when it comes to the internet. I rarely go on social media and when I do, I rarely make a comment.
Perhaps it feels impersonal?
Perhaps I’m afraid of trolls?
Well, the exciting thing about the Deep Soul Strengths community here is that it is quite personal and there are no trolls! This is because only paid subscribers are able to comment. Free subscribers can see comments on free posts, and paid subscribers can comment on free posts. Only paid subscribers can see and participate in comments on paid posts.
This approach is a best practice cited by other Substack writers for exactly the reasons mentioned above: to create a welcoming, personal community that supports its members. People who have committed their hard-earned six dollars are less likely to be in it for, well, whatever trolls are in it for. And if a paying troll does turn up, I promise it won’t be for long!
Thank you thank you!
On that note, I’d like to give a personal thank-you to all of our new paid members. Truly, thank you, for jumping right in to support my work. I promise to live up to my end of the deal, sending quality articles and resources, and cultivating this community of connections.
BIG THANKS to Founding Members: Kathleen M., David E., Nadine P., and Julie I.
THANK YOU to Paid Subscribers: Lorie D., Linda T., Joan G., Vicci H., and St. Mark’s Day School!
And, thank you to all who are here as free subscribers, reading these words. I appreciate each of you.
Now, about that supermoon . . .
Last week we watched the blue supermoon rise twice. The first night, clouds smattered the horizon and blurred the initial rising moon. But then, those very clouds filtered its brightness to paint the most stunning ribbon of light from horizon to shore.
The second night, we tracked the moonrise from the moment a thin strand of pink appeared on the horizon line. We watched the pink globe in its upward hovering. You can see the scene in the photo at the top of this article, or watch the time-lapse video at the end of the article.
What does the supermoon have to do with creativity and deep souls?
We could probably generate hundreds of connections between the supermoon and deep souls. The one I’m thinking of has to do with Mary Oliver, a poet who speaks through her contemplative poems that almost always incorporate reverence for nature. Oliver once wrote:
"I, too, live in this ordinary world. I was born into it . . ." In no way did Mary Oliver consider the world ordinary! She was awed by it. She observed it deeply. Through her poems we experience it with fresh eyes.
Her words are meant to say that she is just a person who has access to the same world as everybody else. Anyone can watch a supermoon rise over the lake, or over the city skyline—anyone who takes the time to do so.
But Oliver’s full statement brings us to deep souls:
"I, too, live in this ordinary world. I was born into it. Indeed, most of my education was intended to make me feel comfortable within it. Why that enterprise failed is another story." Mary Oliver recognized that she looked at the world differently. She had to come from a different angle to make an impact with her poetry. Yet her quote points out that education tried to make her see the world in an ordinary way. She refused. (And aren’t we grateful for that!)
This is what deep souls do.
They refuse to exist in the world as ordinary. Instead, they exercise characteristics that are extraordinary, at least compared to the gray pull of conformity.
Do we all have deep soul strengths?
ALL of us have deep soul characteristics. But most of us have yielded them over time when we have been asked to conform-belong-obey-succeed. Most people don’t have the courage to stand alone with the originality and independence that risk eye-rolls or even punishment.
For a long time, I was the same way. But then I became inspired by outlier students who sparkled with strengths yet were often terribly mislabeled because of them.
And then I started to meet deep soul adults, people whose deep soul strengths were so intense that they couldn’t conform—and they didn’t. Again, they had an incredible ability to think originally, invent, create, and empathize. For example, they were able to think deeply for a sustained period of time, whereas it took me a while to get into such a mode.
As I started to recognize that I, too, had these deep soul strengths, I was able to train them back into functionality. My study of creativity helped quite a bit. So did my year-long project to walk to Lake Michigan to write a poem every day.
How do you rate your deep soul strengths?
Are you an intense deep soul who has refused to be ordinary?
Do you have outlier tendencies but find yourself stuck in a rut?
Are you curious about deep soul strengths but think you don’t have them?
Are you most interested in supporting another deep soul, like a child or a friend?
No matter where you find yourself right now, you can benefit by taking time to look for the extraordinary in the so-called ordinary. Next month there is going to be another supermoon, but you don’t have to wait. Go out tonight and watch the moon rise.
My friend Krystin Smith took this time-lapse from the same beach and has kindly shared it for your viewing delight!
