8.27.2011

the heart wants


This picture has become my answer of choice for many questions.  For instance, "Why did I eat a Hershey Bar today after a very nutritious breakfast of left-over pizza? The answer: The stomach heart wants what the stomach heart wants.

After pondering over this bit of wisdom, I started to get some frightening (or brilliant?) ideas.  Example:  My heart needs exercise...but is that what it wants?  Or: My heart probably needs a low-fat, healthy diet...but I can guarantee you that is definitely NOT what it wants.  

Need and Want.  Two four-letter words.  Two very different meanings.  As I get older, the lines between needing and wanting have become much less blurry.  But actually acknowledging that I only want those new teal pastel pumps and not that I literally have no other shoes to wear unless I bought the teal pastel pumps is where the lines start to blur.

I can easily name five things that I want right now that I don't need.  Or I can remember a moment when I wanted something so bad that all I could think about was that slice of cake/that dress/that running gear until I thought I was going to go crazy without it.  And then a day passed.  Two days passed.  I forgot all about the cake/dress/running gear.  Because it was a want.  Not a need. 

Although my heart (and head) has had its fair share of wants, the things that really feed it and make it grow are the needs - the things that are a little more challenging to obtain.  My heart needs love.  My heart needs patience.  My heart needs thoughtfulness.  My heart needs comfort.  My heart needs laughter.

What can I say?  The heart needs what the heart needs.    

1 comment:

  1. Beautiful and inspiring- we all need a little perspective sometimes and this surely offered that for me. I am so lucky to have you as my friend, my heart definitely NEEDS friendship and we have one of the strongest, of that I am sure :-)

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