A PATH WITH HEART

a path with heart

While the wisdom of the ages can help guide us in life, it is still up to each of us to discover our own gifts, passions and meaning in life in the here and now of life today. Here are some touchstone quotes and ideas about finding a path with heart along with my commentary in italics.

Every mon' got the right

to decide their own destiny.

And in this judgement,

there is no partiality.

Bob Marley

"There is no better medicine than kindness and acceptance."B2021

A Path with Heart from Castaneda's Journey to Ixtlan

Does this path have heart?

If it does, the path is good;

if it does not it is of no use.

Both paths lead nowhere;

but one has a heart, the other does not.

One makes you strong; the other weakens you.

One makes you curse your life.

The other will make for a joyful journey;

as long as you follow it, you are one with it.

The imagination = "what is most uniquely us." Einstein

What makes us most unique makes life interesting but also can be a real challenge when differences and conflicts emerge. Discovering one's hidden wishes, gifts and imagining something different is the first step toward a better, more meaningful, future.

The Chinese character for Crisis includes danger, opportunity, and transformation.

Often when a crisis hits there seems to be little apparent opportunity. Through exploration in a trusting and supportive atmosphere - hope - and a new set of options can emerge leading to change, growth, and transformation where it once seemed impossible.

"Yes, but none of us is self-sufficient. God made us for interdependence. A person is a person through other persons... Compassion is not just feeling with someone, but seeking to change the situation." Desmond Tutu with Dali Lama

Connection and what is common among us matters as much as what is unique about each of us.

"The heart has its reasons, which reason does not understand." Pascal

Using our brains is a must in dealing with life, but knowing who we are and what matters is just as much a subject of feelings and emotions. Integrating the heart and mind gives us the courage to venture forth in life even when all the answers are uncertain.

."Prose tells, poetry evokes." Paloma Pavel of Earth House

Prose is the story of our lives that can be reported like a biography. The poetry of our lives is known by those things that matter to us most, what we love, who we love, what we are afraid of and what we dream of and hope to be. Paloma's work at Earth House embodies integration of nature, the air we breath, humanity and psychology.

"A man's gotta know his limitations." Clint Eastwood

While striving to fulfill untapped potential is what drives us on in life, knowing ourselves and our limitations allows us to move forward in life. For example, no one is perfect at everything, no one has all the time in the world, everyone has limitations, and knowing these limitations is freeing, allowing us to focus on what we can do in life, and what really matters most.

"Experience is not what happens to a person. It is what a person does with what happens." ~some wisdom passed on by my Aunt Arkadelphia Belle~

We have the most impact and power via changing our own behavior (our actions) or our approach (how we perceive and think about life). Otherwise we are trapped by what happens to us, by other people's behavior, like a leaf in the wind, and this is a powerless, helpless, hopeless state. We want to be able to be response-able, ala having the ability to respond vs. merely reacting to life. To let go of reacting and take time to respond.

The Still Point T.S. Eliot

Except for the point,

the still point,

there would be no dance,

and there is only the dance...

Inner Mastery I Ching

If one is sincere when confronted with difficulties,

the heart can penetrate the meaning of the situation,

and once we have gained inner mastery of the problem,

it will come about naturally

that the action we take will succeed.

Two are better than one. Ecclesiastes

Two are better than one;

because they have a good reward for their labour.

For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow.

What is a Double-Sided Kandinsky?

Based on the idea of the mythical Kandinksy painting from the film Six Degrees of Separation:

one side--mystery and chaos,

the other side--meaning and control.

These factors affect our lives and sense of freedom, choice and life meaning.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. – William Shakespeare

Fall down seven times, get up eight times.... et al.

Are not we all, we hope, still learning...

Psychotherapy Offices

Oakland on Piedmont Avenue

Pleasanton on Stoneridge Mall Road