Being Soul Strong: A deep dive into my forthcoming book
“The man who thinks that he is worthy of great things, although he is not worthy of them is conceited; but not everyone is conceited who has a high opinion of his own worth.” Aristotle
I am a big believer in the fact that the good endures and the fake and illusory passes by on the wind. So, when I am looking to understand how to be healthy, strong and clear, I pay no attention at all to the experts and preachers of our Modern ADHD PTSD Society. Instead, I look back over two thousand years to the philosopher Aristotle who explained what it means to be a Great Soul, or as we might call it Soul Strong.
Such people, he said, are larger than life and move about the world powerfully. The Soul Strong carefully avoid delusions of grandeur, but they also stay clear from false modesty. Because they know who they are and what they are for, they step up when they know they must, but they do not waste their energy on trifling matters. They treat bosses and gatekeepers with distain, but drivers, receptionists and waiters with respect. They possess poise and walk their own path without shame or apology.
The Soul Strong are aware of their own position in the hierarchy of life, and it is this awareness of the hierarchy, without any ambition to sit at the top of it, which qualifies any kind of person, at any station of life to be Soul Strong. They need only know their purpose and pursue it with conviction and without apology. Because the Soul Strong deal in ‘knowings’ they do not waste time doubting themselves, and by virtue of their knowledge and inner connection can withstand all criticism and attack.
Great Souls – or as we are calling them, those who are Soul Strong – consider themselves worthy of great things only if they really are worthy. There is no ‘glamour’ or self-delusion among the Soul Strong. They are not vulgar, but nor are they meek. They are not mean or petty, but nor are they compliant or servile. The Soul Strong do not over-estimate their own talents and abilities, but they do not under-estimate themselves either.
The Soul Strong are successful, in their own chosen sphere of activity and they neither flaunt this nor hide it. They are proud of who they are and what they have achieved, but they are also humble enough to know that it all stems from God. Their manner, therefore, is not one of arrogance or brittle superiority. They have a presence and charisma which flows outwards into the world, born of their alignment to God.
All the efforts of the Soul Strong are dedicated to one thing and one thing only, God. The Soul Strong do not work for their own enrichment. The Soul Strong do not do things for money, power or reward. They may accept these things if they encounter them, but if they do not receive them, or if they gain them only to lose them again later, they will not care much. In fact, this is a hallmark of the Soul Strong, that they can accept the profits and losses incurred on the Wheel of Life without rancour, treating them merely as lessons to learn.
The Soul Strong do not take wild risks or court danger, yet they will lay everything on the line for the thing, or person, that matters. They do not often ask favours of others but will always perform whatever favours are asked of them. They do not enter popularity contests and remain focussed on God and their higher calling at all times. The Soul Strong act and speak directly and straightforwardly, and do not conceal, for as Aristotle said
“…concealment is a mark of timidity.”
Others may be offended by this, judging the Soul Strong as outspoken, but the Soul Strong will not care about other’s reactions for they rely upon no one and place their fate in no one else’s hands. They do not praise people easily, nor do they nurture resentments. They are not vain, do not talk about themselves or of small matters, except in so far as such things can be instructive or helpful to larger matters. They are neither rude, abusive nor condescending. They walk slowly and their voice is resonant and measured. Again Aristotle,
“…since he takes few things seriously, he is not excitable, and since he regards nothing as great, he is not highly strung; those are the qualities that make for shrillness of voice and hastiness of movement.”
Easily offended woke-scolds cannot therefore be Soul Strong. To be Soul Strong requires commitment to, and humility before, God, and an acceptance of lessons as they are served up. To become Soul Strong you must understand your own nature, strengthen your will and kiss goodbye to procrastination and self-destruction.
Aristotle’s view of the Great Soul – the Soul Strong – is closely tied to his ideas on self-love. In his own time there was a strong current of opinion which encouraged others to be placed before self, but he thought this was not the whole story. As Arthur, my late teacher would often say, “if you want to help others then you must get yourself right and keep yourself right.” Prioritising others over yourself, will, if you are not very careful, reduce your ability to help others as you will eventually be forced, through your previous neglect, to spend time helping yourself.
Self-love is essential, but it has a bad rap because those who love themselves are often thought to prioritise themselves at the expense of others, taking for themselves the greater share of power, money, or rewards. But this is done by many people, including those who do not like themselves very much. Certainly, much of Modern Britain still frowns upon self-love, with people still readily sneering at someone who is unashamedly authentic. But there is loving yourself from a position of being Soul Strong and there is the more inferior approach of loving oneself without it. Those who love themselves without humility before God are easy to spot, for there is no disguising a dark heart. No matter what title or privileges their office grants them, no matter their wealth, brains or beauty, if the eyes are dim then the Soul is lost, for self-love has become vanity. And it is vanity which people, rightly, object to. Aristotle once more,
“It is right for the good man to be self-loving, because then he will both be benefited himself by performing fine actions and will also help others. But it is not right for the bad man, because he will injure both himself and his neighbours by giving way to base feelings. So, for the bad man what he ought to do clashes with what he does; but the good man does what he ought to do.”
Self-love, therefore, is tightly bound up with self-respect, and with the refinement and development of the Soul. These are all essential ingredients in those who wish to become Soul Strong, which is essentially a matter of enlightened and unapologetic authenticity and dignity.
One important caveat though is that the Soul Strong are crafted and cannot be anointed. In other words, one is not born Soul Strong, but makes oneself Soul Strong through learning the lessons of life, as they appear through challenges, tests, trials, victories, and losses.
The Soul Strong are not, as the 17th-century French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes claimed, super-clever people who always perform at their best, and whose best is somehow always what is best for everyone else. The Soul Strong are also not, as the 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche proclaimed, ubermensch, men above ordinary men, who can turn the world according to their will. No. Soul Strong us not about sophistication, intelligence or masculinity. It is about getting right with God.
The original Great Soul, the archetype for all who might become Soul Strong, was of course Christ, who exhibited all the characteristics that Aristotle listed, with an added emphasis on humility and kindness. I suggest that this is an important factor if you wish to become Soul Strong, but only so long as its humility before God, rather than humility before your fellow man. Even if you do display humility before your fellow humans then I would suggest that this is not automatically a good thing all the time. Rather, it is sometimes necessary to stand up and make a spectacle of yourself and to confront your fellow humans. Similarly, with kindness, another key tenet of Christ’s teaching. Is it really kind to leave people in a state of ignorance that you know will damage them, for fear of hurting their feelings? Kindness, if it is to be effective, requires strength.
In the end, the truth that Aristotle and others were reaching toward is that it is ok to be great and strong, so long as you truly are. That of course is the snag, for there are plenty who want to seem great and strong without doing any of the necessary work. On the other hand, you may think of yourself as not so great at all, and certainly not strong. And for as long as you believe that I cannot do much to help you. But the truth is that it is your uniqueness which makes you great, and if you can also become strong – Soul Strong - then living your uniqueness will bring forward a wonderful bounty of experiences and opportunities for growth.
Precisely how to do this is covered, at length, in the book. But it begins with unplugging from the Cult of Sameness, an incredibly popular yet poisonous ideology which says that you, me and everyone else are just blades of grass, all alike, nothing special and definitely nothing great, simply blown around by whatever winds the powerful want to unleash.
There are many methods, esoteric and mundane, detailed within this forthcoming book. But the essence of them all is a willingness to move toward problems, not away from them, to lean into challenges and draw strength from strong winds. It is a mindset which our society no longer teaches nor encourages, yet it has always been essential for human progress.
The Soul Strong, the Great Souls of the future, will look different to those of the past, and there is no doubt that many of them will be female. But their characteristics will be the same as Aristotle identified over two millennia ago; a unique identity born of God, an unshakeable sense of mission and purpose, an absence of fear, a strong voice and a clear gaze. If you want to understand your uniqueness and do something great with it then you must also be Soul Strong. This is going to be vital in the coming decades, and this book - out very soon – will show you how it can be done.
