Day 153 - Soul Glow

January 8th, 2010

I was briefly introduced to the classical Greek philosophers in humanities class my sophomore year in high school. It didn’t reach me when I was 15. I was distracted with the surrealistic reality that my teacher, Mr. Hands, wore ties that looked like cheddar cheese, a belt that said NASA and told us that he would make out with his wife/Algebra teacher, Mrs. Hands, in the stairwell during lunch time. To his credit though, I do remember that Socrates came first, then Plato and then Aristotle because Mr. Hands said to imagine them sitting in a S-P-A. Effective shit.

I revisited the teachings of these greats my sophomore year in college in a philosophy class. This time around I paid attention and was fascinated that there was no mention of religion when dissecting fundamental problems concerning subjects such as existence, knowledge, values, reason and mind. It hurt my brain but I was committed to wrapping my head around it and making an A. I did.

I was particularly intrigued with how these SPA guys chose to interpret the concept of soul. Plato, drawing on the teachings of his teacher Socrates, considered the soul as the essence of a person, being, that which decides how we behave. Aristotle defined the soul as the core or "essence" of a living being.

These Classical Greeks would be pleased to know that I was walking in Greenwich Village yesterday and was approached by a psychic on the street. She tells me that I have a beautiful bright soul. Then she wanted my money. I took the compliment and not the reading. I generally try to do the right thing and treat people with the respect they deserve...so I would hope my soul would exude something in the luminescent spectrum. Plus it is validating to know that trying to live ethically is what determines soul color configuration. If it were as simple as the shade altering with the color of a bra… my current soul status would be a shade of leopard.

I threw it out to you and asked you to share with me, on day 153 of my 365 day blog entry challenge, the color of your soul. My readers never disappoint:

Poodle poop brown - David Schlesinger

Atomic Tangerine (originally issued as 'ultra yellow' in 1972 by Crayola) - Andrew Mackler

Pitch black - Todd Faulkner

Salt and pepper - same color as the hair - Michael Dubow

Green. Isn’t everyone’s? - Jared Upshaw

Black...and blue - Michael Codispoti

Aqua green, but on Monday's it's usually navy blue - Brian M. Levy

FD&C Blue No. 2 - Kerry Schwarz

My color? Awesome. That is all - Benji Feldheim
My color? Awesome. That is all - Benji Feldheim