It took a while just to figure out a title for my new blog. Finally, I chose the title "Looking Through My Heart." I choose this phrase due to a quote in my favorite book "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I've read the book a few times, since purchasing it a couple of years ago, because I find it inspiring. If you haven't read it, it's definitely a must!
The exact passage from the book that I find so inspiring is as follows:
"You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two. That way you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking through your head. You must look through your heart instead. "
The passage in the book is referring to how one can find balance in life, which is certainly something most of us struggle with. Life is quite the balancing act and many of us are trying to achieve balance in all kinds of ways. We try to achieve a balance between our career and our family/friends, a balance between time spent having fun and getting work done, and we try eat a balanced diet. Not to mention, companies prepare balance sheets and balanced budgets, some of us even balance our check books, gymnasts prove their skills on a balance beam, and fitness programs, such as yoga, can help improve your balance. Sometimes we are trying to balance so many things that we feel like jugglers with too many balls in the air.
In order to help achieve this balance, the passage above encourages us to keep our feet on the ground. If we keep our feet on the ground rather than constantly thinking and dreaming about the future we will be forced to live life in the moment. We'll experience what is happening now. I know I'm certainly guilty of spending my days dreaming and planning what I should do or what I would like to do. Dreaming and planning can be beneficial, so long as we don't miss out on experiencing what is happening now.
The final part of the passage encourages us to see through our hearts rather than our heads. Our heads can so easily see things as right or wrong, black or white, yes or no, but just imagine if we all viewed the world through our heart. Rather than finding answers in numbers, calculations, and policies, which sometimes may be appropriate, we can take time to consider implications to real people, real lives, communities, and feelings. Seeing the world through our heart encourages us to focus on our true desires and to place importance on who/what we love. What better way to find balance than focusing on what your heart says matters, rather than what your head thinks?
By living in the moment and seeing life through our hearts, it's easy to understand how one could certainly feel more balanced and ultimately more at peace. Of course, this is much easier said than done, as life takes over and we are required to pay our bills, feed our families, and take care of an endless list of obligations, but it's certainly worth a try!
No comments:
Post a Comment