Heart over mind and the self....

Heart over Mind and the self....

Everyday morning thanks to watsap we receive a number of inspirational mesaages and write-ups showing us innumerable ways to improve ourselves. Some goad us to plan our day, others to become fit by walking or exercising and some others to do various acts to control our minds or improve the self.
What then is our self? Is it our essential being which makes us distinct from others, is it our personality, identity or our innermost feelings? Is it our mind which tells us what to do or our heart which makes us feel and act intuutively at times.?
It could be our individuality which makes each of us unique and different from the others making us behave differently or react differently under different circumstances.
Our upbringing and social norms may also have some influence.
Our minds are our cognitive consciousness, our perception , thoughts and judgement. The language we speak or the power of our memory or our imagination are linked to the mind. They in turn along with our heart shape our attitude and reponse.
Our feelings of joy, sadness, love, hatred, fear, anger and anxiety spring from our hearts and mind.
Mind is also very private as no one can really know exactly what we think. Our thoughts emanate from the brain and our rationality from the mind but it is the heart which holds our emotions and feelings.

My travel to the airport today made me understand this distinction. I had a flight at 12 noon and got stuck in the midst of one of the famous traffic jams of Mumbai. The traffic was bumper to bumper and the cars hardly moved beyond an inch. My mind started getting anxious about how long it would take. I was upset with the traffic, with my own self for not planning to leave with sufficient time in hand for such emergencies. I was upset with the ongoing construction work at several places which made the roads narrower slowing down the traffic. I started imagining that i would miss my flight.
Amidst all this mental turmoil I turned to my heart and said a small prayer. I found that it calmed me immediately. I realised that the traffic would move at its own pace and there was no point in getting upset. I diverted my thoughts positively to the belief that the car would find its way through this maze and I would reach on time. As a stand-by, I also called a friend who works at the airport for support in boarding at the last minute. Thereafter i just let go. I kept my thoughts positive, kept smiling and found myself telling the driver to relax too.
I wondered at my sudden sense of calm. Ultimately we managed to make it to the airport and I boarded the flight. I certainly am temperamental but this time I accepted the mesage of my heart and remained cool. As a result my nerves were calm and I felt good too.
Many times we find ourselves changing our minds, making up our minds and are often in two minds also. Our heart is softer so we tend to ignore it. Our minds speak loudly and makes us judgemental and react.
Listening to our heart needs patience and courage. It certainly asks us to let go, let go of our egos which often bind us in our one-upmanship. We ignore nobler thoughts of compassion, appreciation, kindness, calmness and serenity from the heart and let our minds wander ignoring our strength which comes from within.
Syncing of our hearts and minds can help us gain back the equilibrium in our lives. Instead of wasting our energies in judging ourselves and others we can explore our own potential, our own little world. Our positivity will help us to remain calm and composed, preserve our health and be the source of happiness to others. Helping our own selves would be the first step in that direction. The traffic jam in my own mind had certainly been cleared by today's travel....
To mind our self through our hearts and to mend our ways, is surely a matter of our own choice !!!