Tonight someone at ward prayer was talking about how it's difficult to fully understand the scriptures if you try to look at them from a purely intellectual level; you have to open your heart to really understand.
This hit a chord with me, maybe because Whitney and I had followed up the amazing CES fireside tonight with a discussion of how Elder Holland is both a deconstructionist and a master of parallel structure. We talked about other things as well, but somehow my intellectual life always seems to crop up first, even for really spiritual things like Elder Holland's talk tonight. I think this is fine as long as it doesn't drown out the things that are trying to make an impact in the heart region, but that shouldn't be my first reaction, should it?
This made me think of other aspects of my life where my intellect might take the alpha spot. What percentage of decisions that I make are related to what I really want verses what my logic tells me is right, and what's the right balance for those things? Sometimes I think it's good for my head to be the one who takes charge, because occasionally I fall into the category of "faint of heart," and my head makes me do things that I know I should. On the other hand, sometimes I wonder if I end up doing things I don't really want to do because I feel like I should, logically, do them.
The area where I wonder the most about this is certainly my love life. Do I struggle in that department because I over analyze absolutely everything? Or do I struggle because I'm not calculating enough and try to act too much with my heart? (I think we all know how I feel about the game verses the genuine, but what about the people I decide to like? Sometimes that ends up being fairly logical as well. I don't know if you knew that or not about me, but I sometimes talk myself into liking people because it makes sense to like them. Not always, but sometimes.)
I brought some of this up to Whitney tonight, and she said she thought that she had thought about the same thing before, but thought that she probably reasoned things out and then made the final decision with her heart. I like that idea, at least for the decision making process, and she's probably right - I think I'm the same way. I'm not sure where that leaves me on the other issues though.
I'm not sure I actually said anything just now, but I'm going to post it anyway to let the record show I was thinking about it. I may have posted this Post Secret already, but I'm going to post it again. I really like it.
1 comment:
I read a great book a couple of years ago about how to make good use of both your head and your heart when making decisions. It's short, has lots of useful advice, and I feel it has helped me make better decisions. The book is "Yes or No" by Spencer Johnson. I lent it to Thomas and he enjoyed it as well. I just got it back from him so let me know if you want to borrow it!
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