Recognizing the Sacred in Every Life We Encounter
In aviation and maritime communication, the term “souls onboard” is used during emergencies to communicate the number of living human beings onboard a vessel. It’s not just a headcount. It’s a recognition of lives, of beings, of souls. The language reminds us that those on board aren’t cargo or statistics. They are people. Whole lives. Each one sacred.
What If We Used This Lens in Our Lives
What if we moved through the world aware that everywhere we go, we are surrounded by souls onboard—fellow travelers navigating the skies of their own lives?
Every human being you pass on the street, meet in a meeting, sit beside on the bus, or scroll past online is a soul onboard this great collective journey we call life. And like you, they are trying to make sense of it. Some are stumbling. Some are shining. All are worthy.
It’s easy to forget this when we’re overwhelmed, annoyed, or afraid. It’s easy to reduce people to their behaviors, opinions, or affiliations. We mentally divide the world into “us” and “them.” We are inclined to categorize others based on whether they agree with us. We value some and avoid others. We believe some deserve kindness and others do not.
A Call to Recognition
If we are truly spiritual beings, as so many of us claim to believe, then we cannot make exceptions. The soul is the essence of every person, regardless of how they show up. And while not all behaviors are acceptable, every being is a soul onboard.
This is not a call to spiritual bypassing or naïve tolerance. It’s a call to recognition. It is a reminder that behind every face is a complex, feeling, sacred being, shaped by stories we cannot see.
What Would Shift in Our Lives If We Truly Saw This?
- What if the person who cut you off in traffic wasn’t just a jerk but a soul in distress?
- What if the relative who pushes all your buttons was seen as a soul still finding their way through their own distorted perceptions and wounds?
- What if we experienced our disturbances with others as an invitation to practice reverence, not just reaction?
- What if we went so far as to see that person who irritates us or the one we fear as Jesus or Buddha testing our ability to love and honor each other?
We don’t need a spiritual emergency to remind us of our shared humanity. We can bring that awareness into each ordinary day.
Here we are, all of us,
doing the best we know how.
Some of us rising. Some of us hurting.
Some of us lonely. Some behaving badly.
Each of us trying to love, to be loved.
To belong, to matter.
We may not understand each other. We may not always agree. But we are traveling together.
So let’s tread gently. Speak kindly. Extend compassion and respect not just to those we love, but to those we don’t yet understand.
Every soul counts.
Every soul is worthy.
And every soul is onboard.
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