Head and Heart

"The longest journey traveled is the distance on the path between the Head and the Heart". This is a quote I heard at a conference of thought leaders I attended two weeks ago. Boy, is that a commentary on where we are as a nation and as a global community at present.

We are caught on the road between the "Head" and the "Heart" lost without a roadmap. That's not to say that there aren't any available, in fact there are many a model to follow, but somehow we have, in many cases, set aside the tried and true maps and guidebooks and opted for the digital wailings of the GPS. Quicker they say and requiring less of a personal commitment and need to know, "The way". It's hard sometimes to even see the road through the thick fog of fear and misinformation. My 10 year old daughter became my tour guide yesterday on my personal "Head and Heart" journey to find my way. We were sitting--she, her sister and I--rolling quickly through the channels on the TV, as I did my moment to moment monitoring of the unpredictable airways that are available to us these days. I stopped for a moment on a news channel to hear the weather update and we listened and commented on the extreme humidity. My older daughter asked me a question and I was answering it when I realized that the weather report had finished and they had moved on to a story about a violent act that had been committed, so I quickly changed the channel, however not quite fast enough. 

We went on to watch one of their favorite show and after about ten minutes my ten year old looks at me and says "Daddy my heart hurts". Alarmed by this, and immediately concerned for her health I said, what's wrong honey?  My heart hurts because people keep hurting each other. They keep doing bad things to each other and it makes me hurt right here. She points to the center of her heart. Can't they feel it when they do something to hurt someone else? Is their heart broken or asleep or something? I wish I could do something, but i'm too little. No one will listen to me.  I'm listening, I said. And believe me, I understand how you feel. Just by caring as much as you do, makes a difference. It reminds me that the work I do out in the world is the right thing to do, and now is the time to be doing it. Thanks for reminding me of that. She gave me a hug. I feel a "little" better, she said. We smiled ... wake up sleeping, broken hearts. Listen to the wisdom of the children. Let's find our way before the little one's loose the wisdom to know the right way to be as they travel the life path.