I’m not a flake. Really. I’m not a flake, so don’t get me wrong.
But, I just recently realized that my head really gets in the way of my heart.
I’ve always had this “battle” — this “internal war” — between what is rational and logical vs. what is my true heart’s desire. I’m not a flake, really, I’m not. Ask my friends. Ask my colleagues. I’m not a flake.
So, what stands in the way of getting really “hearty”? I think I caught a glimpse of it today.
I walk in the woods. A lot. I think you may have gathered that from previous posts, which you should be following by now (wink). Today I was walking, and, my usual bent is to start “thinking”. Contemplating things. Working out the events of my life so that it sews itself into a coherent kind of “quilt of understanding.” But today, I did nothing of the kind.
I simply threw my hands up and let my brain relax. I thought nothing, I questioned nothing, I just watched. I watched and listened. And I let myself be guided. It sounds so damn simple, doesn’t it? But for a person like me, whose cognitive functions rarely go for a coffee break, it’s unheard of. I think I finally got to the point of “OK that’s ENOUGH”, and just… let go.
Let go. Let go. How many TIMES have we heard this? It’s a bloody Disney song now (insert “it”). But how many of us really do it? Just “let go” and “let life happen?” We are so caught up in controlling every little bit of our lives that sometimes we forget how beautiful the uncontrollable is.
I was walking with a friend today. As we walked, I saw things I never saw before, and I’ve walked in these woods for as long as I’ve owned my beautiful dog, Scout (4.7 years now). I saw things I should have seen a long time ago but didn’t. Dog strangling vines canopying a fleet of sumacs in their late spring glory. Lean-to’s built by hands that I will never see. Fallen trees twisted into contortions. Shapes of leaves that never stood out before.
I believe things stand out for us when we are ready. Beauty morphs itself as we morph. As our minds flex, so do our perceptions. This is big. This is REALLY big.
Point is, I didn’t “intellectualize” everything I saw… I just “let it be.” I saw it for what it was, and that was enough. No head, just heart. Just heart and a willingness to appreciate the natural beauty around me.
Phase 2: Seeing things from the heart in the everyday… in the job, in the house, in the grocery store.
I challenge you to do the same.