Deep Water

A somatic look at Proverbs 20:5

Last week, I announced on Instagram and Substack notes that I’d be starting a summer series called ‘Body of Wisdom’ after Memorial Day. I made the announcement on purpose. I knew if I didn’t have extrinsic motivation, I’d think about writing pieces that take a somatic lens to the book of Proverbs, but then I’d open my laptop, fumble around, conclude I had writer’s block, and I’d quickly find other tasks to do instead. The cycle would continue until summer’s end.

My theory was spot-on because as soon as I sat at my desk to begin this post, I felt the subtlest sensation of a stomach ache—the result of shallow breathing, which is my somatic response to writing as of late. I might have missed the hints of discomfort, might have closed my laptop with the justification that I simply didn’t have the brain space for writing, but since I’m trained to notice somatic cues and connections, I couldn’t deny what my body is telling me: writing makes me nervous.

Oh well. I’m writing anyway, nerves and all. We’re going to spend the summer looking at wisdom and body knowledge and faith because I think it’s important, and here’s why: In a culture of busyness, noise, and optimization, humans have less and less somatic awareness. We don’t know why we do what we do. We don’t know why we feel what we feel. The brain receives somatic information and nervous system responses all day long, and then (without our consciousness) it shapes a narrative and directive for our movements and behaviors. It’s a narrative based largely on patterns, safety, and ease, keeping us from the exhaustion of minute by minute introspection. This is a good thing.

The not-so-good thing? If we live solely by this streamlined system, there’s a good chance we will miss out on God’s purposes for us. We need to know why we do what we do. When our nervous system is our primary decision maker, unexamined patterns, habits, memories, concerns, sensations, and emotions propel us toward self-protection and pull us from situations where faith and courage are being asked of us.

There’s a body of knowledge inside of each of us, but we have to draw it out to understand it. Proverbs 20:5 says it this way: “Counsel in a person’s heart is deep water; a person of understanding draws it out.” (CSB)

How do you draw out the deep waters of knowledge and counsel stored up in the core of your being? How do you recognize what God is doing in your life and where He is calling you? How do you discern His will and the desires He’s placed in your heart? Through daily examen with your Creator. Without this spiritual discipline, we become people of foolishness and disintegated faith—words without will, wishes without walk, good intentions without obedience.

Challenge for the week:

There are two Latin words from which we get the English word ‘education’. Educare, which means to train or put knowledge in—this is our typical definition of education. But the other root word is educere, which means to draw knowledge out.

Keeping this image in mind, ask God to educate you by helping you draw out the deep water within you. Trust Him to be gentle.