All the Best: Soul Searching
Back when I was single, one of my favorite inspirational authors was Iyanla Vanzant, Oprah’s buddy. Her book, “In the Meantime,” helped me get through a lot of tough times.
One of my favorite parts of the book focuses on the concept that just because you’re ready for a relationship, it doesn’t mean your soulmate is. Vanzant uses the idea of a house to represent our souls, from the messy basement where we store all our “baggage,” all the way up to the enlightened attic. While we’re waiting to find our soulmate, she says our job “in the meantime” is to maintain our spiritual house.
For me, that meant establishing a singles group with funding by a local organization, planning social events, and sitting on the floor, watching “Felicity” on TV while I put postage stamps on 125 newsletters every month. (This was before the days of Evites and Meetups.)
Of course, I had ulterior motives — to find my own soulmate — but in the meantime, I had some great adventures, made lifelong friends and, in the end, found my husband-to-be sitting right next to me on the planning committee.
Being single isn’t easy but ones we’re featuring in this month’s Single in the City cover story have thrown their hearts and souls into groups that support the greater good here in our community. They’re changing our neighborhoods for the better, finding causes to become passionate about and, in turn, living their best life. As Vanzant says, “Before you find out who you are, you have to figure out who you aren’t.”
Speaking of finding out who you are, take some time to read Caitlyn Callahan’s Subject Matter on page 13. It’s an interview with Dave Lieberth about his recent book, “Greater Akron: Inventive. Industrious. Inspired.” This beautiful volume shows who Akronites were at the beginning of the 21st century, where we came from and where we’re headed.
All the best,
Abby Cymerman, Managing Editor