"Before you embark on any path ask the question, does this path have a heart?"
 

What does it mean "does this path have a heart"?
how can a path have a heart?
this i dont understand.
can somebody please explain to me?
:confused:

Imagine an ice queen who rules a land and no one loves her.

Then imagine she had a heart.

ok i think i understand..

even if i set off on path and reach the end and have nothing to give for it..then it wouldve been all a waste

im gonna ponder on this on my own for a bit

thanks for ur input

:)

In The Teachings of Don Juan, Don Juan tells this word for word to his student Carlos. He follows it up by saying only an older, wiser person is likely to understand what it means. He said when he was young he was too full of passion and fire to understand what it means and that not until he was much older did he understand what a path with heart was.

If you ask yourself if a path has heart and it does, you will know for certain. Perhaps you are uncertain because you want to follow a path for egoic reasons that is heartless for you.

Well, for example, you might tell yourself that you are going to make loads of money.

Before you start, you could ask yourself - which path to making loads of money should I take? The one based on greed and egotism (no heart), or the one based on a desire to improve the world and make a positive difference to others (with heart).

Would the path fulfil you as a person? Is it in line with what you believe to be right?

The "path without a heart" is the one that will lead to physical or material gain but leaves you as a person unfulfilled.

Use your feelings to tell.

The Heart In It
 

Do you have the heart to take the path to the end.
Requires a strong vision of the goal,
and the discipline to stick to it to the end.

False dichotomy, but you hit upon someone that would surely be unfulfilling-someone who acts wholly to gain with no regard for anything else is surely half a man, doomed to wonder how he squandered his life in the end.

Now if he seeks to improve himself and pursue that which impassions him the result is quite different-even if he has little regard for the world at large. "The path with a heart" is personal and only you can determine what it means.

My interpretation is just one of any number of possible ones. But, I think there is a difference between having a heart and being passionate about something.

Here is an example of where a path may be passionate but have no heart.

I decide to embark on a path to get super fit. I am very passionate about it and I put all my time and effort into it, to the degree that I have no time for anyone else. My partner and kids hardly see me any more, because I'm in the gym all the time. Now, to me, that is a path with passion but without a heart.

It's not a literal meaning. The question is more like - is your heart really in it?

Are you passionate about that path or is it "just something to do" or "pays the bills" or "just a job (or pastime / degree / habit)"?

Does the path call out to you?

Do you spend time thinking about it when you "should" be thinking about other stuff?

Do you wake up at night thinking of how you might get on this path?

That's the path with a heart - for you.