The Rev. Bill Graham once told me (I profiled him for a newspaper I was working for) that there are two kinds of people in the world – Soul Suckers, Soul Savers. He said we all must choose which pathway we will take, the one or the other. My goal in life – this has come somewhat later for me – is to be a Soul Saver. To take nice photos, write meaningful things. To help a deserving child get a donkey. To help a creative friend start a blog. To encourage my wife to love her life. To be a warrior for light and color. To remember the poor and bring them comfort. I am not looking to be a saint or a full-time do gooder, that is not in my heart. But I’d love to be a Soul Saver, it is sort of the point of the blog, of my life with Maria, with animals, in my town.

I am not a selfless persona, but a selfish man seeking the pathway to bliss. And I do not want to be a Soul Sucker.

Soul Suckers are angry. They are judgmental. They divide, rather than unite people. When I see a politician  preaching anger and suspicion, I know I am looking at a Soul Sucker, trading his soul for power. I can tell because Soul Suckers always make me feel bad, angry or upset. Soul Suckers always have warnings about things – don’t take your dog for a ride in the car, be careful of bugs, bees, foods, watch out for identity thieves, shred your documents, fear those who are different,  do work you hate to build up your IRA’s, get long term health insurance while you are young, while it’s affordable, test yourself regularly. Soul Suckers send nasty e-mails, argue on Facebook, tell you how to live your life.

Soul Suckers always have a sad story, the deck is always stacked against them, life is always hard, they are endlessly complaining about “them,” and about taxes, prices, the young, the way things used to be, technology, they are Armageddon trawlers, the world is going to hell in a hand basket. They mistrust government, other people, they often spout religious dogma but sometimes seem to have forgotten what it means. Soul Suckers feed on anger and argument, they all watch cable TV news and suck on the angry chat rooms of the Internet for their view of life. Soul Suckers hate change, it is their enemy.

Soul Savers, on the other hand,  make you feel good. They do not preach catastrophe, but life. They are open, honest, encouraging. They listen. They don’t talk about the dog who died ten years ago and how much they miss him, they talk about the dog they love now that makes them happy. They don’t trade in struggle stories and pity-me tales, they understand that we all suffer loss, have sorrow, that it is a part of life. Struggle is not a land in which to dwell, it is a condition of being alive, not a reason to be pitied, but a way of being alive. They don’t tell you how their health is or ask you about yours, they don’t see the world as being on the left or the right, they are open to many kinds of ideas. Soul Savers tend to love the natural world, and feel the pain and suffering of the earth and the animals who once roamed freely up on it. They respect accept change, if they can’t always love it. They care for the poor, they cherish the young. The see the beauty and light in the world.

I was not with the Rev. Graham long, and I am not an Evangelical Christian, but I am grateful for the guidance he gave me about my soul. I aspire to Soul Saving, it feels good, I think it is, in many ways, the pathway to bliss. I think it is the essence to saving my own soul.