DIFFERENT SPEEDS

Hearts and guts. They make up the meat of who we are. They are the navigators of our soul. There’s a strong connection between our heart and our gut feelings. Together, their ultimate goal is to bring forth who we really are. Helping them is our mind. When our heart and mind are in harmony with each other, we feel good. Our actions match what our heart is feeling and it’s as if we’re doing what we’re meant to be doing.

I’ve learned over the years that our heart and mind can operate at vastly different speeds. That is to say, sometimes what we’re thinking and what we’re feeling seem to be coming from two entirely different planets. We’ve all experienced this. We do something because it makes sense logically but our heart isn’t in it. Our mind is happy that we’re listening to it but our heart isn’t happy. On the other hand, we may pursue our heart’s desire despite the common sense counter-argument going on in our mind. There’s a sense of apprehension in our thinking (aka our mind) when we do this, but overall, we feel good when we follow our heart. When it comes to gut feelings, they can override what our minds are saying and they’re often right.

I currently find myself in a situation where I’m following the reasonings of my mind and not the longings of my heart. Despite my best intentions, despite the most logical arguments with myself in which I win in favor of my mind, my heart is struggling to follow suit. In truth, it feels like the lights have gone out in my heart. Even though it’s a struggle right now, I know this is only temporary. With patience and time, my heart will be up to speed again. Looking around to find what is good in each present moment has helped a lot. Staying open and being aware of anything that brings even the tiniest hint of joy is something I’ve always known in my head, but maybe it’s finally translating to my heart. (Now that’s another take on the way our hearts and minds work at different speeds.) Maybe that’s the lesson – slowing down to realize what joy can look like.

I’ve often heard that we need to listen to our heart because it’s telling us where our joy lies. I know this is true. But sometimes, in order to truly free our heart, we need to take the more uncomfortable road of our mind for a little while. Excuse my language, but this can suck big time. Don’t give up. Always keep the bigger picture in mind.

We’re very complicated creatures. We can be at odds within ourselves in ways we never imagined. Our hearts and minds are our driving forces and when they don’t agree with each other, we get thrown off balance. Striving to regain our balance is how we grow. Hang in there.