Head and Heart

I was listening to a podcast recently about Jean Vanier and his life, and he said the following thing which I loved:

"When the head and the heart come together, something special arises, and that is wisdom."

I, like many of us, have struggled about whether to listen more to my head or my heart. Often I feel torn between the two - one too emotional, one too rational - neither one satisfying me completely. Finding the middle ground has been a challenge. But when I heard this quote, I realized that I don't need to choose one or the other. Blending the two can lead to a wonderful, third option: wisdom.

Where in your life are you guided more by heart, or by head? What would it be like to come more to the middle, more towards wisdom? How would it feel to ask yourself, "what would be wise in this situation?" By engaging with these questions, we may be able to value both head and heart equally, and find the beautiful blend of the two in increased wisdom in our lives.

Fog

It was a foggy morning on the lake today, which got me thinking about how we manage when we can't see our way. Often in our lives, things will be clouded, or misty, or unclear. We are taught (especially in this North American culture) to "take the bull by the horns" and "create our own destiny." Whether you know what you're doing or not, get out there and get busy! In other words: don't just sit there, do something!

As with most things, there are times when this advice is wonderful - when the path is clear, for example, but we are feeling fearful or unmotivated. But what if the way is clouded? What if we can't be sure where we're going?

In those cases, I suggest, we exercise calm and patience. What would it be like to just sit with the not-knowing? To take this opportunity to listen to the "small, still voice inside" which guides us, but which is often drowned out by the noise of our every day lives? To trust that the fog will lift, and we will be ready for the path when it appears?

This morning, I sent my kids down the driveway to meet the bus. The path is well-trodden, and they know where they're going; it was safe to send them off into the fog, since this is a part of our daily routine. And then I spent some time doing yoga and meditating while the fog lifted. And - of course - it did lift, revealing a blue sky and a calm lake and bringing new energy as the day unfolded.

If you find yourself at a foggy time in your life, I would encourage you to experiment with stillness. With patience. Stick to what you know; keep structure and routine in your life; stay on the well-trodden paths while you wait for the fog to lift. Trust that when it does, the way will become clear.

Thirsty

It's the beginning of September, and that means tidying up the garden. We are lucky enough to live on a lake, and at the beginning of summer I had put some planters out on the dock. As the summer went on, these poor flowers became more and more neglected, until I finally put them away as I tidied up before fall.

These drooping, dehydrated plants were completely surrounded by water, sitting out on the dock in the lake as they were. I had even put a watering can on the dock to facilitate keeping them watered and healthy. But as the summer went on, caring for the plants became secondary to other concerns, and they quietly wilted away.

The irony is that less than five minutes of my time, a few days each week, would have kept these plants healthy and happy. But I became "resource-blind" - oblivious to the wealth of resources around me which, with the smallest effort on my part, would have allowed me to enjoy the beauty of these flowers on into the fall.

I think it's easy for many of us to become blind to the wealth of resources around us. It's so easy to get caught up in the minutia of daily life that we don't notice what a difference a few moments a day would make to our overall well-being. But, as with most things, we need to make some effort too. As my mom used to say when we would be trying to find something as children, "you have to LOOK! It's not just going to jump up and say Here I am!"

So I would encourage you to take some time to think about what resources surround you that you might be blind to right now. Perhaps there are friends or family who have offered to help out in a challenging time, but you haven't taken them up on that yet. Maybe there's a piece of nature nearby that would soothe your soul, but you just can't seem to find the time to go there. What is your soul thirsty for? Have a good look around - the resource needed to quench that thirst may be all around you already.

Even in difficult times, our lives are filled with grace. The tricky part is that we need to have our eyes and hearts open to see it. Once we've noticed it, we need to take the steps needed to bring it into our lives. Usually these are small steps, but they often need to be repeated on a regular basis - like watering my flowers. The rewards of making that effort, however, are often deep and meaningful and nourishing. Worth the time and energy!

What are you thirsting for? What resources are around you, that you've become blind to? What small steps could you take today, or tomorrow, to keep your soul quenched? As a new school year begins, take a moment to think about these questions, and then see if you can't make a promise to yourself to keep your eyes and heart open to the resources, and grace, around you.