If Only to Throw a Rock

When one loses function of a limb, even for a brief time, and the use returns, it is alien. The same can be said of organs.

As difficult as it may be to fathom, we all at some point have lost the use of a part of ourselves. The tiniest version is the foot which goes to sleep after having it curled beneath us watching our favorite movie or the hand snaked under and cradling a napping head.

At the other end of the spectrum are the heart and mind. We joke about losing our minds. As alluring as that topic may be, today’s focus is on a different organ: heart.

When thinking about losing something, we have to put a value on it first.

  • How much do we use it?
  • How much does it define us?
  • How often does it make our jobs easier?
  • Does it complicate otherwise easy matters?
  • Can we function without it?

For the grinch, losing heart is not much of a loss. Grinches invest little heart in anything. They do not bleed into their endeavors.

Burning HeartFor the big-hearted, losing heart is similar to becoming quadriplegic… underwater. Big-hearted people bleed life force into everything they touch.

They are not as easily lumped together as Grinches. Not all of them are Type-A personalities. Some of them are meek. Many are weak. A few are silent forces unknown to the majority of the people they affect. They drop the pebbles into the smooth surface of water creating the ripples which move every water molecule in the lake.

Imagine for a moment their hand paralyzed, unable to drop the stone; instead, the hand trapped beneath the rock. For all the desire in the heart, knowing dropping it is the right thing to do, the heart cannot will the rock off the hand.

As time moves on, the hand goes to sleep and refuses to help the heart in its desire. The mind justifies why the rock is better off where it is. This is not a cruel argument, rather it is one of kindness. The mind does not stand in judgment of the heart’s desire. It reasons why the rock remains to save the heart from feeling foolhardy in wanting to drop the immovable stone.

The heart is never convinced. It knows the rock needs to get into the water, regardless of how immutably the stone persists. The heart grows weary because while it nods in acquiescence the mind’s reasoning is sound, it silently wills the rock to move.

weary: exhausted in strength, endurance, vigor or freshness; having one’s patience, tolerance or pleasure exhausted

How long can the heart lose the argument before its endurance is exhausted? In the face of the rock’s permanence, the heart seeks out another rock. Mayhap, a smaller stone will have enough impact to affect change.

The mind cajoles with the same arguments from the last rock in the hope the heart will abandon rock-throwing altogether. The heart persists with a rock covered in muck which makes it stick to the hand. Now, both hands are unable to drop the stone of change.

Another form of weariness sets in:

bored or annoyed by something because you have seen it, heard it, done it, etc., many times or for a long time

Minnesota RocksIf only the heart could get a toe under another stone, a kicked rock would have a similar effect to one dropped with precision. The stones at the feet are large and heavy. With the hands pinned down, balance is skewed. The mind refuses to send the impulse to the foot to kick the rock because it knows the body would fall even if the toes were not broken in the effort.

The heart again acknowledges the mind’s sound reasoning. After all, what good would affecting change be if the body must be sacrificed to do it?


Dear M3 Readers,

This is the beginning of a series which has been painful to write. Over the course of the next few posts, we will expand this concept into a much larger arena.

Thank you for your constant support and encouragement. They mean a great deal to me.

Quietly,

Red Signature

Do you believe some change is worth personal sacrifice?

Hashtags: #change #sacrifice #dotherightthing

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