Listen, Think, Act, Become, Repeat

On my very first blog post I wrote "Any day that I can know more, do more or be more is a day worth living!"  For me, A Path With Heart always seems to include knowing more, doing more, or being more.  The urge to know more, at times, seems insatiable.  All I want to do is devote all my time and energy to learning something new until I know all about it or master it.  The urge to do more keeps me up at night doing whatever it is I want to or "need" to do, whether it be writing a new blog post, learning about twitter, researching for my upcoming trip to Peru or baking cookies for Christmas.  I feel like my brain is a mega giant sponge that wants to soak everything up.  I would not even sleep if I did not have to just so I could keep doing whatever it is I want to learn or do.  

I was thinking about that in relation to my weekly meditation: "Well Being comes from Well Doing" and I realized that my most basic urge is "to become more".  Both the urge to know more and the urge to do more have roots in  becoming something or someone more than I currently am, expanding my "self" in some way.  These urges and desires are at the core of who I am.  This is the essence of my "self" seeking expression.  These are my desires to be more of who I am and become more of what I am capable of becoming. 

This then, is the way to follow your Paths with Heart.  

• Listen for the expanding or creative part of yourself that is seeking expression. 
• Think about how it relates to your present Life situation and how you can follow this desire and integrate it into your Ultimate Life Path.
• Take actions to follow your Path with Heart.
• Become "More of your Self", the person you are meant to become.
• Rejoice in your Life and Repeat.

 "Who you become is infinitely more important than what you do or what you have".  ~ Matthew Kelley

"To be what we are and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of Life"  ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

The Path of Least Resistance

The path of least resistance is not a Path with Heart.

Have you ever taken the path of least resistance in your Life?

You say to yourself, "That way takes too much effort, I'll go this way, it is easier." or "That way takes too long, I'll take this shortcut." Sure you have, we all have at some point, under some circumstances. Most of the time you take the path of least resistance to avoid something you deem painful or unpleasant. Or, maybe you perceive it as a shortcut, a way to save time or effort. Taking the path of least resistance is a choice. Usually it is a small decision you make and it is no big deal but, many small decisions add up and sometimes the path of least resistance can become a habit, a bad habit.
The very first thing you learn as an emerging life form is the basic reaction/action response of avoiding pain and seeking pleasure. You seek the warmth and security of your mother's arms, body and breast. You learn to react to the pain of cold and hunger by crying which gets you warmth and food. As you get older, some of the things you associate with pain are learned, and only painful to you because of your "point of view". For instance, for some people, "work" is a four letter word and "working" is painful. For some, working is something they "have to do", while for others, it is accepted, embraced and done with purpose. For some, their job is a source of pain, misery, and boredom, while for others, it is nourishing to their soul. Both points of view are learned, accepted as truth, and hardwired into our brains as our "personal point of view". Both are arbitrary, learned choices, and as such, can be changed.

Every day you make hundreds, perhaps thousands of choices and decisions. Many of these small decisions and choices are habits, and as such, we do not give them much thought. But, each of these choices can be either a strengthening choice or a weakening choice. Some of these choices may be habits derived from an outdated point of view, a point of view that no longer serves us. For instance, when we were children perhaps we could get our way by whining, but now, as an adult, whining makes us look childish and spoiled. As a child, it may have been a strengthening habit, getting us what we wanted from adults, but now it is a weakening habit we need to drop.

Usually, the choice to take the path of least resistance is made to avoid perceived pain, to stay comfortable or to stay numb to the pain your point of view is causing you. The path of least resistance may appear to be the path to safety and comfort but, in the long run it weakens the will and kills the spirit. The path of least resistance, avoidance, is always a weakening choice. When it becomes a habit, an automatic response, you are a slave to weakness.

A Path with Heart is never a path of avoidance. A Path with Heart is empowering and strengthening because it is consciously chosen, lived with purpose, and faces Life full-on. Your Path with Heart will guide your Life in the right direction. For instance, maybe your Path with Heart is to Live a healthier Life. How many decisions do you make every day that relate to your health? Eat that candy...or eat a healthy snack?, take the elevator ....or the stairs?....stand up for myself......or let my boss berate me again? It may take more effort, more discipline, and more courage but you will be achieving small victories in your Life and it is the small daily victories that make our lives meaningful.
Every choice you make leads somewhere. Even if you choose not to choose, you still have made a choice. Choose a Path with Heart, make the commitment to follow it, and then be conscious of your daily habitual choices related to your path. Adjust your habits to your path and replace bad habits with strengthening and empowering habits. Soon you will find yourself living a more purposeful Life. Every choice you make is a step down a path to somewhere. Making that choice in the light of whether you are on a Path with Heart can lead you up into the light of a richer, more fulfilling and empowered Life.

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." ~ William Jennings Bryan

Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.
~ Nikos Kazantzakis

What exactly is a "Path with Heart"?

What exactly is a "Path with Heart"?
When I speak of a path with heart I am speaking about a "Life Path". Your Life path is where you have been and where you are going in your Life. A Life path can or will include a family path, a career path, your path of knowledge, a path of self-realization, a spiritual path, a path to emotional freedom, a path of physical health, a wealth path or an artistic path; in fact, there are an infinite number of paths you can take in your Life.

Some people take the path less traveled, some take the path of least resistance, some strive for the status quo, and others engage their desires and passion and forge a Life with great and noble intent. It is easy to get into a holding pattern and a habit of doing what we know and what we have always done if we are not committed to something bigger, better, or brighter.

A Path with Heart is a Life path that inspires you. It excites your passion, desire, and imagination. Living a Path with Heart is Living with consciousness and purpose. A path with Heart demands commitment. It is not half-hearted. Living a Path with Heart brings forth enthusiasm, joy, gratitude, and fulfillment.

“I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should
Burn out in a brilliant blaze than it
should be stifled by dry rot,
I would rather be a superb meteor,
Every atom of me in magnificent glow,
Than a sleepy and permanent planet,
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist,
I shall not waste my days in trying
To prolong them. I shall use my time."
-Jack London

Career Path

So much for beginning to post every week!

Life asserts itself and,with two sons graduating, one from College and one from High School, my parents visiting for 2 weeks, a sprained ankle, and my youngest son in his first triathlon along with working 60 hrs a week lately, I have been busy! And therein lies the rub!

I am feeling that my career path is no longer a "Path with a Heart". I am working 60 hours a week, tied to a mortgage, with not enough time to Live my Life and pursue what I Love. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do but it has taken over my life and I feel like I am living to work. It was OK when I was supporting one son through college and providing a home and good living environment for my other son. But now, it's all I can do just to pay the mortgage, and there is no money left to support my second son through college.

My heart tells me now that the path with a heart is to pursue whatever it takes to support my son through college and possibly change my career path to do it.



And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
All urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
and all work is empty save when there is Love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself,
one to another, and to God.
And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your
beloved were to wear that cloth. It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house. It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit. It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit. And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.
Work is Love made visible.
~ Kahlil Gibran

If we knew we were on the right road, having to leave it would mean endless despair. But we are on a road that only leads to a second one and then to a third one and so forth. And the real highway will not be sighted for a long long time, perhaps never. So we drift in doubt, but also in an unbelievable beautiful diversity. Thus the accomplishment of hopes remains an always unexpected miracle. But in compensation, the miracle remains forever possible.
~ Franz Kafka

To begin

When I wrote my first blog page it was to jump into the fray of something new that I was interested in, get my feet wet, and explore a possible "Path with Heart".

After a few refinements and much thought about what I had written, I realized that what I had written was nothing less than my own personal manifesto on "Living Life" and what I have been going through recently. Interesting........."maybe I can continue this blog and expand upon what I have written?" Yes, it seems quite feasible but where to start, what to say?

After pondering for some time, I came to the conclusion that what I had written on that first blog page had somehow come from divine inspiration.
You see, I am not a writer.
I love to read.
I love words.
I am a thinker.
I love to think and words are the tools of thought. But words are also the tools of communication and I am an introvert. On top of that, being a man, my social conditioning has not been very conducive to speaking my thought much less my feelings.

I tried to write....I tried to beg, trick, cajole and force out the right thoughts and words, all to no avail. And so I have been awaiting my Muse...........which has been none too productive! Hmmm isn't this what got me into trouble in the past?......waiting around for something to happen? I need to take my own advise and just start doing! I am going to start posting on this blog weekly. It is time To begin.

Whatever you can do,
or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius,
power and magic in it
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Throw Yourself Like Seed

Shake off this sadness, and recover your spirit
sluggish you will never see the wheel of fate
that brushes your heel as it turns going by,
the man who wants to live is the man in whom life is abundant.

Now you are only giving food to that final pain
which is slowly winding you in the nets of death,
but to live is to work, and the only thing which lasts
is the work; start then, turn to the work.

Throw yourself like seed as you walk, and into your own field,
don't turn your face for that would be to turn it to death,
and do not let the past weigh down your motion.

Leave what's alive in the furrow, what's dead in yourself,
for life does not move in the same way as a group of clouds;
from your work you will be able one day to gather yourself.

~ Miguel De Unamuno ~

Into the fray!

Today I take the leap into the blogosphere and start publishing my 1st blog! Why am I doing this? As British mountaineer George Leigh Mallory stated in 1923 when asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest; "Because it's there".

More about George Leigh Malory Here

For me, one of the greatest joys of Life is in learning or experiencing something new. Life is so BIG, knowledge is so vast and experience is unfathomable! Any day that I can know more, do more or be more is a day worth living!

On the path of my Life, my quest has mainly been a quest for knowledge; to know myself, to know the Truth, to know God, and to know the world around me. My perspective on These things I "know" and all of my Life experiences make me who I am. To Live is to express my Self. To be alive is to Live the Truth of who I am and express my individuality as an "Artist of Life".

Somewhere along my path I got lost in the "habit of living". I was lost in the mechanical day to day things that do not take much energy, effort, imagination, will, courage, or enthusiasm. With all of my "knowing", I had become passive in my life and neglected "doing". I was not living my Life with definite purpose. In other words I was not Living Life, Life was Living me! From these realizations I formulated these postulates.

1) The day to day mindless dramas, routines, and habits are just distractions that keep me from being awake, alive, and Living the Life of my dreams.
2) There are a million other distractions.
3) Fear and guilt are also distractions. They are distractions of a weak mind!

When I woke up to those facts, I took control of my Life.

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough;we must do."
~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Knowledge and experience are of little use unless they are put into action.
My Life needed an action plan!

My plan is simple.
1) Make decisions! Everything we do from second to second every day is the result of a decision or a habit. If you make decisions you are living Life. If you run on habit, Life is living you.
2) Dream and then Do! Life is a process. Living is a creative endeavor. Be the "artist of your Life"! It is not the end result that is important but the journey in the present moment. Live your path! Live a path with Heart!

"A Warrior chooses a path with heart, any path with heart, and follows it; and then he rejoices and laughs. He knows because he sees that his Life will be over all too soon. He sees that nothing is more important than anything else."
~ Carlos Casteneda

"A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting."
~ Carlos Casteneda "A Separate Reality"

"Every human is an artist. And this is the main art that we have: the creation of our story." ~ Don Miguel Ruiz

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else." ~Judy Garland