I’m thinking of the French word for heart – couer. And the word courage, which comes from this root. And the lion as a symbol of courage. It takes courage, like the lion, to follow the heart. One of the most powerful and memorable dreams I have ever had was of a tiger who was giving birth to her baby tiger through the chest. She laid at my feet so I could help her deliver, and I heard the words, “the birth canal of the heart.’

The heart is fierce and loyal to her values and truths. There are so many considerations in life that distract from heart. I am surrounded by them even as I sit at home tonight. To live from the heart first and foremost requires vast instinctual courage. I am following my heart to Seattle tomorrow to be with my heart friend, to tend together to her shattered heart over the loss of her beloved husband, to listen to his “fathomless heart” as my friend described it, and to find strength of heart to carry on.

We all need it, all of us in the world need it.It takes great heart and courage to move like the lion.