So, Who’s in Charge Here?
“Don’t let your heart rule your head.” How often have you heard that statement? I heard it enough, as a child, to make me keep my heart in a cage on many occasions. I believe it probably was a good discipline when trying to live life through the lens of something besides extreme emotions. I blame my Scottish, Irish, and Sicilian ethnicity for my frenzied emotional make-up. Actually, I blame my ethnicity for many things. But, that is not the point here. Sorry.
I do not claim to be an expert on anything. I find it safer that way. However, during the last sixty two years, I’ve picked up a few things that helped me unleash my heart, while respecting the little grey cells in my head. I would like to share those with you. Please know that in my world, dancing and writing are both forms of storytelling. My observations here reflect lessons learned during twenty years as a competitive, performing dancer and choreographer. I am a rookie writer and have no trouble admitting that. But when it comes to storytelling, I believe dancing and writing live in the same creative camp.
Over the course of my life, I have come to see that dominance of either the head or heart can be a setup for intense internal battles. Those struggles can stifle, postpone, or altogether defeat the creative process. When God called me into the world of art through dancing and writing, I was forced to rework the theory I was taught as a child. On my journey, I discovered my own truths relative to polarization of heart and head.
One of those truths is that heart and head don’t have to be on opposite sides of the process. Head is responsible for assuring technical merit, logistics, and all around solid structuring. Heart is responsible to interpret life events, recognize good story, and to dream.
Another truth, for me, is that heart and head must live as teammates. They cannot see each other as enemies or, worse, competitors. My heart has come to respect the analytical practices needed to author a good product. This is called discernment. Likewise, my head now values heart’s sensitive tentacles reaching outwardly, or inwardly, to catch visions God wants shared. This basically amounts to spiritual breathing.
Perhaps, the most valuable truth I’ve come to embrace is that head keeps heart centered, and heart teaches head to fly. Neither of these can happen when impatience with the discernment process gets in the way, or ego (acronym for “edging God out”) is not kept at bay.
You may be asking how all this happy heart with head posture comes about? That is the topic of my next blog entry in this series. It’s called, “Silver and Gold.” It is just in time for the most collaborative yet competitive, and in some ways polarizing, arena known to humans. It’s called the Olympic stage. Stay tuned. Luv ya.
Copyright February 2014
llpadgett
Lakewood, Colorado
Connect with me, Laura Padgett, on Twitter @lauraleepadgett or my Facebook Author Page
Check out the books I have published
“Dolores, Like the River,” available at Westbow Press, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and all major online retailers. If you live in the U.S. and would like an autographed copy sent directly to you, click on the tab for buying books on my home page
The award-winning “Jesus in Shorts: Twenty-five Shorts Stories of Life-Changing Jesus Moments,” available now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you live in the U.S. and would like an autographed copy sent directly to you, click on the tab for buying books on my home page. I will ship it to you after your purchase.
