It’s about heart
Regardless of what we do, it is about connecting with heart. And delivering.
One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes. –Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I love this picture of the dandelion. Named after lion’s teeth, (in French dents de lion), and, of course, lion-hearted means extraordinarily courageous, and the root of the word courage is cor — the Latin word for heart. It is a sweet connection between this plant and the heart.
What could we hope for when we blow the seeds off this plant wish-giver to enable the tiny umbrellas to carry our dreams to where they can do their work? And what would be the source of this wish, our hearts or our heads? Both are acknowledged thinking organs and sources of our decision taking.
There is a prophecy that exists, in some form or other, in many indigenous peoples, about the heart and the head. My favourite, so far, is that of the eagle and the condor. Native Americans believe that there was a division in humans where some followed the path of the condor and the others the eagle. The eagle represents the North and is associated with masculine energy and the mind. The Condor is represented by the South and connected to feminine energy and the heart. It has been said that when the eagle and condor fly in the sky together there will be a new level of consciousness.
The one we listen to will decide our future. The heart is known as the seat of our emotions and our emotions are the driving force behind brands. If we fall out of love with them, we simply will not buy.
But our hearts do more than respond to our own emotions, they link us to others’ at deep levels. The Institute of Heartmath, in California, has found evidence that the heart’s magnetic field is around 5,000 times greater than that measured around the brain. They suggest that this field may even be greater, as their equipment is only capable of measuring a few feet from our bodies. What if we were all connected through our hearts?
Research shows that when people watch an emotional movie or sing together, their heart rates and respiratory rhythms synchronise. When leaders and followers have a good rapport, their brainwaves fall into a similar pattern. And when romantic couples are simply in each other’s presence, their cardiorespiratory and brainwave patterns sync up.
Advertisements are designed to make us feel good and we are reminded of this feeling by the seal of the logo. Eventually, a glimpse of the logo is enough to trigger our positive response and we buy.
But what do many brands really offer us? Often it is a thin sweet slice of instant mental gratification and once the buzz has worn off and we have eaten our hamburger and bought our handbag, we are left, at worst, with indigestion and landfill.
When we decide from our heart, we avoid the habit formed temptation, the over rationalised, complex and often unfounded justification, as well as the temptation to hand over our happiness to the outside world full of brand promises for a better future. When we bring our hearts into the process, we open to the potential to connect with others at this beautiful pulsating level. And make more informed choices about what we buy and the future we are creating.
