Finding Heart in Our Work...

"Much of Heart Aroused deals with the hidden and neglected side of corporate life, where a woman's or a man's soul has been forced to reside, like Tolkien's character Gollum, in dark and subterranean caves. Modern business life arises from a love of the upper world, of material products, or order and organization; it celebrates the material, light-filled portion of existence. It is the world as we see it (or as we would like to see it) and as it most makes sense to us."

David Whyte, The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America

Whyte goes on to say that while our work fulfills us in many ways, it also robs us of our ability to be who we really are as caring and loving human beings. Sometimes it takes a poet to remind us to find heart in our work, whatever that work may be.

My wish for all economic developers and the business organizations they help every day is that all of us find more heart in our work in the coming year. We have a choice. Let's choose the heartful path to that which sustains us.