viking fridays – the mind and the heart.

The mind alone knows what is near the heart,
Each is his own judge:
The worst sickness for a wise man
Is to crave what he cannot enjoy.
- The Hávamál

I first quoted these words a few months back, when we were talking about burning the boats.  Powerful words indeed, and I was reminded of them again just the other day by a good friend who shared another thought provoking quote.

If your head tells you one thing, and your heart tells you another, before you do anything,
you should first decide whether you have a better head or a better heart.
—Marilyn vos Savant

Much time have I spent thinking, many evenings pondering what to do, where to go.

My mind, racing, searching, planning, dreaming.

For that which my heart already knows.

My 6 week game was a very busy time, and it was good.  I took on a lot of things – it was a growth phase, think of it as an experiment.  It laid the foundation of change in a lot of ways.  And then, quite recently, I took stock.

Took stock of what things really meant something to me.  And then I let a few of them go.

Back to basics.  Back to the core.

Back to what is near the heart.

To what the mind alone knows.

For once the mind accepts what the heart has been saying – perhaps, shouting from the top of the tallest mountain – the wise man will not suffer the sickness any longer.

The craving will lessen, when the mind listens to the heart.

The wise man will move ever faster towards that which he knows in his heart is his true meaning, his true passion, perhaps his true purpose.

And knowing that he is back on that true path – the one he always knew to be the true path – he will enjoy each and every single waking moment, knowing that he will get there.

Slowly but surely, he will get there.

I believe we all know, deep inside, what and where and how – perhaps we need only slow down to listen.