2009 November 16 « The Coaching Source

Heart and Meaning

In the last post, I talked about Paying Attention and drew attention once again to Angeles Arrien’s work. She talks about Paying Attention to what has heart and meaning. So first we simply have to pay attention. Period. But what does it mean to pay attention to what has heart and meaning? From a leadership standpoint it means to that first we have to understand what has heart and meaning for ourselves, and then we have to listen for and understand the same for others.

I love what she says about heart: “Where we are not strong- hearted is where we lack the courage to be authentic or to say what is true for us. Strong heartedness is where we have the courage to be all of who we are in life. The word ‘courage’ is derived from the French word for the heart, Coeur, and the etymologically it mean ‘the ability to stand by ones heart, or to stand by one’s core.”

Angeles Arrien; The Four-Fold Way; Harper San Francisco, 1993 pg. 51

So the questions this prompts are:

• Do you know what is true for you? Do you know what is true for the person you are talking to?

• What are you willing to stand by? What are others willing to stand by?

• Are you paying attention to what has meaning, that is not being said?

• Are you saying all that needs to be said at any given moment?