Somewhere each day we have to fall in love with someone, something, some moment, event, phrase. Somehow each day we must allow the softening of the heart.

 Otherwise our hearts will move inevitably toward hardness. We will move toward cynicism, bitterness, fear and despair. That’s where most of the world is trapped and doesn’t even know it.

 The world’s been in love with death so long that it calls death life. It tries to conjure up life by making itself falsely excited, by creating parties where there’s no reason to celebrate….

— Richard Rohr in The Passion of God and the Passion Within

The person we are growing into,

the way we are hard-wiring our brains,

and the effect of our lives on others

comes from the moment-by-moment choices we make in our thoughts. We manage our thoughts from our central administration dashboard—our heart.

We choose what to observe, focus on, move away from, and move toward. We choose our interpretations, what things mean. What our life is about.

The pull downward is so rational, safe. It’s like stepping into a small box.

The climb upward isn’t prescribed, safe. It means to steer our thoughts toward openness, wonder, love…God.

Again and again.

Somewhere each day we have to fall in love with someone, something, some moment, event, phrase. Somehow each day we must allow the softening of the heart.

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photo credit: markvall (creative commons)