Have you ever come into contact with someone and felt immediately at ease? Someone your soul instantly knew? Or, met someone and felt inexplicably uncomfortable? Have you ever had someone stand next to you, their energy so excruciatingly sad or heated with rage you instinctively take a step forward or back? The energy our souls carry caress our skin like a fragrance sprayed just that morning. Obvious only to those who pay attention. I have experienced all of this and more. Many years of introspection later and it has been an eye-opening experience to understand why I feel what I do when having a soul encounter.

The ones my soul instantly know.

If you had never met me before and we were about to meet under normal circumstances, I would describe myself as polite but reserved; Open-minded but distant; Nice but slightly cold, and probably one of the hardest people to get to know on a deeper level. So, for me to meet someone and feel instantly comfortable or at ease is rare. By nature, I’m immediately cautious of anyone who comes around me. However, I have found that the ones my soul instantly knows are there to guide me during a particular life lesson. Other times to teach me about the characteristics of others. They are there to hold up the mirror when I’m not seeing myself clearly or the voice that keeps me from teetering into the darkness. I have had different people serve this purpose at many points in my life. Some for a season, some for a lifetime. Understand and recognize the people in your life meant to serve this purpose. It will be invaluable.

The ones who made my soul uneasy.

Growing up, I remember how important it was to be liked. In grade school, I came into contact with so many kids. Some made me feel more uneasy than others. Some I could tell had a disturbing home background, while others, I could tell, held morals very loosely. Anytime I ignored my better judgment to befriend the child I knew I shouldn’t, I would inevitably be lead down a path with a fork in the road. The fate mine to choose. I could follow this friend and change the trajectory of my life or I could take the road meant to be traveled and STAY the course for my life. Seeking or accepting companionship from those uneasy souls never led me anywhere good. But what it did show me was how easily one choice could change a life.

The souls who challenge mine.

The last and most challenging have been the souls who made me question my own; The ones who have played with my light and darkness. There are those you meet who either bring out the best or worst in you. Some carry demons that like to play with yours, while others are so light they challenge the best in you. When faced with souls who trigger what seems to be every horrible quality you possess, you have a choice. You can either examine those reactions, the cause, how that seed was planted along the way, and kill it. Or you can water it, allow it to grow and fester into a weed that destroys everything good in you.

The people tugging at the potential in you can be equally challenging. They don’t let you settle. They keep you from being lazy. They set an example you admire, not envy. They make you feel uncomfortable choosing to do anything but your best. It’s not always necessarily a friend either. Sometimes it’s those you admire from afar. Those you know in passing. Whoever they are, you are challenged and when you are anything less than your best, the mere presence of them brings it to your attention.

I could go on about so many more of my soul encounters but, I’ll leave it here. For now… Just know, every single person that has come into my life has served a very distinct purpose. Recognizing the reason has been game-changing. You want a REAL ephiphany? Evaluate your soul encounters and ask yourself which purpose they serve(d) in YOU.