food for the soul™
food for the soul™ is a unique online experience, a portal of inspiration that supports and empowers you to take 100% responsibility for your life. How? By serving up ideas to inspire personal responsibility and nurture your soul.
Here you’ll find Soul Food for daily reflection, Soul Practice for cultivating freedom as a way of life, Soul Care for seasonal renewal and well-being, and Soul Masculinity—inquiring what it means to feel deeply, connect authentically, show up fully, and not go it alone—through dialogues and insights that honor evolution.
Join our community for regular insights, stories, and conversations that feed your evolution.
Soul Food | Inspiration
Today’s #SoulFood | Harold S. Kushner
“Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.” ~ Harold S. Kushner
Today’s #Key: Be generous because generosity is who you are—let who you are determine what you do, not who’s watching or what you’ll receive.
Today’s #SoulFood | Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
Today’s #Key: Kindness and compassion are not weaknesses—they are courage in action: choosing humanity, love, and connection in difficult times.
Today’s #SoulFood | Anne Lamott
“Almost everything will work better if you unplug it for a few minutes—including you.” ~ Anne Lamott
Today’s #Key: Silence and stillness are active forms of self-care, wellness and restoration—not avoidance or escape.
Soul Practice | The Freedom Zone
When Life Happens … It’s Perfect!
How often have you looked back at a situation that didn’t go your way and, with the benefit of hindsight, breathed a sigh of relief that it didn’t go the way you wanted?
Jillian’s Journey from “Not Enough” to Empowered!
When Jillian’s close friend handed her The Freedom Zone: Your Gateway to Love, Liberty and Happiness, she had no idea she was about to unlock decades of self-imposed limitation. What happened next proves that you have more power than you know to transform your life—no matter how deeply rooted your patterns feel.
From Rejection to Revival | Sometimes Dreams Take Detours
I fulfilled my dream! I co-authored a book about Freedom, with Sharon Brick, called The Freedom Zone: Your Gateway to Love, Liberty and Happiness.
Soul Care | Wellness Tonic
Dr. Maya Angelou | Forgive Yourself
I don’t know if I continue, even today, always liking myself. But what I learned to do many years ago was to forgive myself. It is very important for every human being to forgive herself or himself because if you live, you will make mistakes—it is inevitable.
Donna Marie | Living in Gratitude
In my journey to self, I began a gratitude practice. By this I mean that no matter what is going on, I look for something I can appreciate about it. When I started out, it was not an easy thing to do. I was so used to looking at things from the outside, at feeling that I was a victim of circumstance.
Wellness Tonic Ingredient: Evolution & Change | Fall 2021 Edition, Issue #13
There is no question that the pandemic has led many people to shift their perspectives–not only have I heard this in the many conversations I have had with friends and colleagues in the past year and half, it is something that is well-documented.
Soul Masculinity | Dialogues and Insights
A Caring Disciplinarian
My Dad believed it was important that his children should be disciplined and always respectful to others particularly our elders and he never believed for example that an adult would ever say anything untrue about a child.
My Father | Women Are Their Fathers Too
This has been the premise we have existed under for all of our existence – Women – We are our mothers. YES – we are, BUT we are also our fathers and to understand any women you must listen carefully to how she talks about her father.
Life Lessons
When I was a little girl, I felt a great deal of instability–living away from home, divorced parents, a stepmother, younger siblings–being in a blended family can cause feelings of insecurity. But through it all, you remained the one constant in my life.
About Us
I’m Donna Marie, creator of Food For The Soul and passionate about gratitude, joy, and inspiration. Born and raised in Jamaica (the Caribbean—not Queens, New York!), I’ve called the United States home for over 30 years. I am blessed with work I love, extraordinary friendships and partnerships, and a life rich with mind-expanding adventures.
While my interests span nature, sports, film, theater, art, and beyond, I’m most fascinated by the journey of being human—approaching life as a practice of discovery fueled by curiosity. This has drawn me to attend transformative workshops, seminars, and retreats, all in service of expressing my authentic self and living in Soul Flow.
In the early 2000’s, I discovered Zig Ziglar’s quote, “People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing–that’s why we recommend it daily.” That moment sparked an epiphany: being inspired isn’t a one-tme event–it’s a practice requiring daily nurturing.
Through this journey of self-discovery, I learned that the key to living fully is surprisingly simple: staying aware, awake, and attuned to the magic and miracle of each moment. In essence, being present. Since this is ultimately an inside job, I needed ways to cultivate this awareness and find daily inspiration to bring this mindset to life.
I began a morning ritual of reviewing an inspirational quote and setting an intention for the day. This practice transformed me so deeply that I started sharing these insights with friends. Their enthusiasm gave birth to Food For The Soul™, an inspiretainment website dedicated to feeding the spirit.
In 2007, I officially launched Food For The Soul™ at a charming neighborhood cafe, The Broken Cup.