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Take Heart, Set Sail!


Everyday I am pulled in different directions, my attention shifts, mostly depending on who I am looking out for: my wife, my daughter, my colleagues, my students... MYSELF. It is this last one that seems to overpower the others. When I want in my heart to be a better person, to be selfless, I find that I am conflicted looking to at least some part of self-preservation amidst looking out for whoever else is in my care.

It is only natural to think this way, and we are quite complex creatures capable of running a highly sophisticated algorithm arising in the choices we make. Still, something feels wrong about it, something amiss. Something very calculating and cold, a plus scenario sought over a zero sum. This writing's deduction is that the mind cannot rule the heart. The mind can govern the heart, but it must not rule. The mind doesn't perceive enough of reality to rule, though it is wonderful at reasoning and logic.

The heart, on the other hand, is not as reasonable. It is a chaotic place of passion and whim, of feeling. It is what connects us to the real nature of things. We were born in a feeling. The truth of it is inside us, but we cannot rely on it. It comes and goes like the tiny puffs of wind on a calm day. One taps you on the face, one on the back, another on the bottom right of your right leg. How can you harness such a wind?

To set sail, sailors release huge sails able to catch the wind whichever way it is blowing. They pivot and shift the mass to best catch the wind, and, in conjunction with the rudder, they head to a set destination. This illustration is useful in considering how to set course on life. You need a ship, a mast and sail, and a rudder. There's a bunch of other stuff that professionals use, but that will get you started, and with the right guide, get you where you need to go.

It's hard to say in this metaphor, who I am comparing with what sail part, so I will just jumble up all the names and parts together. I originally set sail in this writing to arrive at that Jesus is who we ought to be paying attention to, moment by moment, day by day. He brings together our mind and our heart in a way that we cannot do on our own. The Spirit is the guide here now who has been compared to the wind, and He shifts and maneuvers to breathe life as only the breath of God can. The Word of God, also acts as a powerful guide, as a map of sorts, showing us key paths taken, and shares wisdom for the journey.

And the Father, well, He's like the ocean. So vast and foreboding, yet irresistible. You would almost think out in the middle of the ocean that it is innavigable; you cannot attain it! But with preparation you can make it to the other side.

Heavenly Father, I am not quite sure that I said what I meant to say in this post, but I pray that I learned something. I pray that I would better fix my eyes on Jesus, and not look down. I pray my ears open to the whispering in the wind of the Spirit. And I pray that my leaning toward looking out for Number One would be sidelined for looking out for the Holy One. Help me to pay attention!

In Jesus Name,

Amen

https://www.faithgateway.com/focus-on-jesus-and-dont-look-down/#.XoxhW4hKhPY

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