THE HEART IS OUR COMPASS!

 In my early years of deer hunting in Montana I got lost deep in the woods. I was totally unprepared. I had not brought food or water with me and a snowstorm had settled in. My tracks were quickly covered up. In the canopy of a dense forest I could find no landmarks and the sun was blotted out by the snow clouds.

 Luckily, I bumped into another hunter who carried a map and a compass who pointed the way out of my problem. After that experience I never again went into the forest without a compass and an initial reading. The challenge with being inside of a problem is having a compass to walk your way out. Once inside a problem, finding direction becomes crucial to a positive outcome.

One of my favorite stories was shared with me by a son who was in training with Special Operations for the Marines. His training started with 70 men and three months later only 28 were left standing. While the physical demand was grueling, yet it was the mental demand that nearly washed him out. It happened like this.

Part of his training was learning to use a compass and navigate in the dark of night while crossing through a swamp. Without moon and stars, total reliance on a compass was essential. His training in navigation had been excellent and his confidence was high. It was important that he achieved an 80 percentile if he was to remain in the program. This was his final night of training and he was anxious to get into the field. As he left the building and descended to the bottom step, he realized that he had not signed in on the board. As he returned to the board, his sergeant caught him and told him he would not be allowed to sign in and that he had already failed by not signing in when he first left the building. But he was encouraged to complete the field test anyway.

Fear and anger raced through his mind as he left the building. As he trudged his way through the swamp, his thoughts raced in a dozen different directions. Should he give up? Should he complete the course? Should he protest his treatment by the sergeant? What do I do now?  Why am I even here?  As he stood at the first station, all alone, in the middle of the night, things became incredibly quiet. He found himself standing there in the swamp for a very long time.  Soon, all he could hear was the quiet croaking of tree frogs. 

As he continued to listen to the frogs’ serenade, he found himself less caught up with “being in the problem” and more with the moment he was experiencing. In that quiet silence and with the mind quiet, he soon realized that moving forward and completing the course would be the wisest choice. The mind has a tendency to fight and struggle to wrestle and overcome the problem from the inside out. The heart would have us do otherwise.

A couple hours later, as he returned to at least turn in his stamped card, the sergeant accepted his completion and he was able to remain in the program. Of all the challenges that he faced during the three months of training, the time he spent in that swamp that night with waters up to his knees at the first station was the most difficult challenge of all.  

His future had seemed as dark as the night itself. And it really had nothing to do with physical stamina or intellectual abilities to complete a task. Yet it came down to allowing the heart to direct the mind in the direction that it must go. And that made all the difference!

“We must remember that the head cannot eliminate the darkness. Likewise, our belief in life cannot eliminate our suffering; only find its way to feed our heart.” – – Mark Nepo