I consider this to be a most important question. A contemplation that is likely more important than the answer, really. I like to think of living an authentic life that is powered by the wisdom of the heart. It is said that the heart serves as the bridge between the body and the soul. That by standing on this bridge, we are able to more clearly see the bigger picture of our life's purpose, and merge that vision into the choices we make moment by moment in each ordinary day.

Living from the heart brings balance into our lives. It allows for the possibility of inspiration to fill us each morning when we awake, looking out into the new day, wondering what will come. Listening to the wisdom of our hearts and taking action that is aligned with what we hear magically diminishes the stress from our life. It is simply incredible! We are able to get in touch with a real purpose for our lives. Everyone needs to have a purpose...I think it's in our genetic code. We all need to believe that we are an important contributing member of our modern day tribe. When we do have that sense that we ARE important, that our life has value, not just to us, but to our community of earth dwellers, peace and gratitude begin to replace worry and fear.

Our vital resources of time and energy are replenished as we stand on that bridge of Heart~Connected Living, and then an amazing thing happens! We can begin to live the life of our dreams. A life of joy and sharing, giving and receiving. We speak words of authenticity...words of the heart. These words cause us to feel good, which causes those around us to feel good, which brings even more happiness into our lives. Soon we feel gratitude, not just when something wonderful occurs in our life, but even when challenges come our way, because we know in our hearts that these obstacles will grow our character. What joy we feel when we learn that the obstacle in our path, which caused us to take a slight detour, opened the door to a world we only dreamed of!

The "Connection" is a circle that has no end. We connect to our soul. We connect to other people in our lives. We connect to our animals. We connect to nature. We connect to spirit. We connect to our life purpose, and we connect it all together into a circle of compassion, responsibility, joy and gratitude.

Lakota holy man Black Elk said many years ago:

"The power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round...everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round and I have heard the earth is round, like a ball, and so are the stars. The wind, in it's greatest power whirls in a circle. Birds make their nests in circles, and theirs is the same religion as ours."