Motion is Lotion for the Soul Too
“Sometimes she rode in pursuit of a sense of peace (“motion is Lotion” for the soul too), but rarely she rode for sheer pleasure in the way children do.” (Allen Levi, Theo of Golden)
Reading that line in Theo of Golden, I couldn't help but pause. As someone who has spent time in physical therapy, "motion is lotion" is a familiar refrain for joints and muscles. But the idea that motion soothes the soul, too, feels profound. What is it about moving our bodies that acts as a healing salve for what we feel inside?
The character, Ellen, in the novel, Theo of Golden, rode her bicycle, that she referred to as the “Noble Invention”, as a means of escape from the “terrors within herself”. She was trying to find peace, certainly a key element “lubricating our soul” from keeping it from hardening. Maybe movement is all about applying lubricating oil to those areas of our life that are atrophying or slowly hardening.
Travel surely gets up moving and we have done a lot this year. We like to travel that challenges us to move our bodies and our Rick Steve’s tour of Croatia sure did that. Our Rick Steves guides did more than show us the sights—they opened our minds and unwrapped the rich history behind every place we visited
“We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise, we harden. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Wolfgang von Goethe believed that human beings are not static but in need of constant renewal. During our tour in Split, we stopped at this statute of the Croation Bishop, Gregory of Nin, who lived in the early 10th century. It turns out Bishop Gregory believed in change and renewal. He argued that the Mass should be conducted in Old Church Slavonic rather than in Latin. Something that did not happen for another 1000 years!
“Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn’t matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough.”
Richard Feynman
Just keep moving and exploring the world! It is good for our souls!
On the path together,
John