“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”
~ Helen Keller
I often think that, in our heavily commercialized civilization, we often miss out on the most important things in life. Helen Keller could neither see nor hear, and yet, she is a fountain of wisdom!
They tell us, that if we wish to market ourselves, our skills and talents effectively, we need to utilize visual presentations on social media in this digital age. If we do this, beware… don’t make the presentation longer than two minutes, because you’ll lose your audience! It’s true! I’m forever catching myself, as I browse through web sites online, jumping from site to site because something didn’t grab my attention in the first five seconds. “I don’t have time for this…” is my mantra.
Listen to me! “I don’t have time for this…” !!! My appetite for snappy video or sound isn’t satisfied, so I move on. I’m not reading much, or carefully, for that matter. There may be significant ideas that I would do well to ponder – but I’m too busy!? Really?
Isn’t this what Helen Keller is really saying to us? Use our faculties to gather information about our world, analyse it, sift it, but most importantly, feel it with our hearts.
To feel something with my heart, first, I must invest my time. I have to enforce quietness in my mind and focus my attention on this one item, to the exclusion of all else. Next, I must consider, carefully, each part of the idea so that I don’t misunderstand it. Then, I savour it in the context of my own life experience. How does this idea speak to me? Finally, my heart accepts it, I internalize the idea, and it becomes a part of me.
When an idea settles in my heart, I make it mine. That means that I act upon it and it becomes part of my living, my life experience. Not only that, but it is something that others can catch. Not because I expound upon it with great eloquence, or write voluminous essays about it, but because I live it.
Fiora Books by John Fioravanti 
And I still didn’t slow down enough! All those typos… You got the gist anyway! 😉
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Which typos would those be?
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Slow down and smell the roses/coffee (for those of us with allergies! 😉 ) – all for that!
I think, as writers, we all know how precious a commodity time is, but we need to remind ourselves to come at it from different perspectives as well. It’s important to get stuff done, but if that’s at the expense taking time to savour an experience, a place, or a person then we’re neglecting some of our greatest allies – our senses and our imagination.
It’s good to slow down and look about us for all sorts of reasons – including our blood pressure! 😉
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It sure is easy to miss these sensory experiences when we’re busy! Your point is well taken – sometimes we do need to slow down and savour our life experiences! Thanks, Jan!
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This is a lovely post, John, and inspiring! What you say is so true 🙂 Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂
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I appreciate your visit and comments, Harmz – stop by again, soon!
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A great post, John. The heart is where it’s at! Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful day, my friend!
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Thanks for visiting, Bette!
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John,
Lovely post! That quote from Helen Keller has always been one of my favorites.
Enjoyed the read! Have a great day!
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Thanks, Jennifer! I appreciate your visit!
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We have all lost the sense of time in these times. We have also lost depth to life. I have to stop myself many times, take a deep breath and do whatever it is over again to internalize it. You are right John. We have to live it to feel it. Beautiful thoughts.
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Thanks for visiting, Joy. I appreciate your thoughts!
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OMG! Thank you for this post! How profound was this! And as you can see, I was not asking that as a question, it was an exclamation! You are so right that we so often find ourselves thinking “I don’t have time for that” yet we all have the same amount of time in each day and there are those who do far greater things than us, successfully, skillfully and without fail. This will remind me to “stop and smell the roses” and stop rushing thru beautiful blog posts, such as this one, because I feel, “I just don’t have the time.” This has moved me in such a way, that I am determined to visit and comment on as many blog posts that I can today, to prove that I do have time. Remember this folks, PEOPLE MAKE TIME FOR THOSE THINGS THEY WANT TO DO! Let’s stop making excuses because when we do, we make progress!
Kudos, John!
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Thanks, Nonnie! I appreciate your support. I agree – we all have the same number of hours in a day. I know I need to use mine better than I have in the past!
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