January 16, 2025

Article highlights: 

  • Open-eyed
  • Open-hearted
  • Untangling my thinking

I came across this wonderful bit of truth.  Out of the mouths of babes…

Marco, age 10, from Bulgaria said,

“Open the eyes of your heart and solve your problems in a new way.  You believe it will take years or lifetimes to solve things like hunger, disease and violence.  Is it possible that it is simple, and that your need to see it as complicated has been the very thing that has kept you from the answer?”

It may be there is one thing – our tendency to complicate things in our minds – that most prevents us from solving our challenges more effortlessly.  Our learned tendency to gravitate toward complexity instead of simplicity runs deep, doesn’t it? 

Our ego has a rapt fixation on the complicated because it allows opportunities for cleverness and singular heroism.  This tends to create complicated, confusing and even frightening lives.  

The problem arises because simple methods can seem naive and boring to the ego- driven mind.  But could it be that – as Marco said – we just need to open the eyes of our heart instead? To do that we simplify our mind.  We untangle our thinking. 

I’ve often mused about what that could look like in my own life.  It’s turned into a beautiful thing.  For instance recently I faced a potentially difficult, complicated communication.  

Mercury was retrograde, no less, and it was with someone who really likes complicated, angsty, aggression-prone interactions.  She likes to take offense.  

I was thinking about how to approach that when I remembered Marco’s words so I decided to try “opening the eyes of my heart” to solve the problem.  I began by simplifying my thinking.  Untangling my thoughts always lets the light in.

I quit my attempt to anticipate and strategize with my mind.  I dropped my mind’s storytelling.  I went in open-hearted and wide-eyed, seeing it through my heart’s perspective.  It kept things, and me, (and her!) at our simple and dearest best.  My doing this seemed to issue an unspoken invitation to her. 

And wow, my hat’s off to what happened.

The moment turned into the dearest, funnest, most wonderful sort of connection.  I’m still gobsmacked and in awe.  The heart can handle it all, yes it can, yes it can.

What a way to live.  It really is something to think about:  Open-eyed, open-Hearted Living.  What can this bring to our lives?  What can it look like today, tomorrow?  I can’t wait to see.

Open-heartedly,
Mayet Leilani

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