Hello Dear Hearts,
How was your week? New York City stirs me in curious ways, and inspired today’s writing.
Amateur to pro – shamans, charlatans, and wise people alike – suggest we follow our heart. Though do they warn us of the potential pitfalls, or problems to prepare for? Is that even possible?
Sitting in a corner coffee shop on the lower east side, it seems the number of homeless far exceeds what I’ve seen in my 31 year (part-time) abode. Unfulfilled, hopeful, and ridiculously successful dreams walk these streets – the destitute to famous – and absolutely everything in between. In this sense, it’s the same as when I was a young girl, and first came here from the southern states.
What’s the determining factor that skyrockets one person to wild success, or plummets another to their worst nightmare? Is it destiny, dharmma, luck, hard work, or freak “coincidences”? And why do some super excel, while others sizzle out?
Following our heart is great. And… it can also be fraught with fear, (self)doubt, and questioning if we’re just plain crazy. Big questions of worthiness are sure to surface, and the measuring stick of quantity over quality may fail us.
In my own quest for the holy grail and beyond, and at times feeling defeated and broken by it, here’s what helps me with the problems we face following the heart… it’s the willingness to:
- feel, and move through feelings, keep it moving
- not know
- let go of control
- walk the razors edge
- be uncomfortable at times
- trust myself and the goodness inside of me
- dig deeper within, underneath the disturbance and mental chatter… and listen closely
- get clear on what’s motivating me – is it truly a heart call, or am I driven by something else?
- be flexible, and open to things looking different
- face the demons of despair and discouragement, feel it, without being determined by it (thanks power of choice)
- sharpen my senses so I can hear the good voices over the bad (thanks meditation, yoga, fasting, and eating clean – beyond perfectionism)
- acknowledge what is working, and let go of what isn’t
- face what keeps me attached to what I think I want and what used to work
- open to change and what presents itself in unexpected forms
- cultivate a mind-set that allows for my faults and flaws… and love myself anyway
- not take things too personally or seriously, while being accountable
- allow for my own humanness and vulnerability
- soften and receive, rather than manning up and blocking out the hearts voice
- and…..NEVER GIVE UP, NO MATTER WHAT, AS AN UNDERLYING COMMITMENT TO GROWING PRESENCE WITHIN MYSELF
So, follow your heart? Yes. Though may we be prepared for life’s variations, unexpected twists and turns, and everything in between. Help each other? Yes please. Take good care of self as a mainstay, and let go of sacrificing our health for “when” (when I reach this goal, when I accomplish that… etc)? Absolutely.
Here’s to following your heart and using the issues that arise as a mirror and medicine… reflecting what we really want, while gaining clarity and confidence to go for it, health intact.
Amy
