Brian’s Reflection: Monday, February 11, 2008


……………. as in many other things connected with the
formation of character, people in general begin outside,
when they should begin inside; instead of beginning
with the heart, and trusting that to form the manners, they
begin with the manners, and trust the heart to chance influences.

- Lydia Maria Child, author, poet, born on this day, 1802, in Medford (?) MA


Yes, you do know Lydia Maria Child! She wrote the words to a song that even we Verdun Quebec kids knew (or I did anyway) - “Over the river and through the woods to grandfather’s house we go / the horse knows the way to carry the sleigh / through the white and drifted snow” - though I remember “grandmother, not father. And, if you lived in Massachusetts, as I did for a bit, you might know her family because of Medford Crackers – her father made them. She was one of the first women to make a living by writing.

Mrs. Child’s words make me wonder - what would a person turn out like if there were no other influences, and they were left alone to let the heart form their character? Interesting thought. I think it would be OK! Despite all the other influences in my life, I know what my heart really wants. To be respected, cared about, appreciated, treated gently, valued for myself. Have I just come to this after 60-odd years, or is the human heart indeed created in loveliness and to be trusted? I don’t know about other faiths, but Christian mystical theology has always felt that the heart was the home of God.

These days, I don’t think that we are careful enough about the human heart. Anywhere in the world. In any religion. Certainly not in any educational system. Religion has become a system of controlling behaviour from the “outside” - and manifestly it doesn’t work, in my opinion. And education [from the Latin “e ducare”, to lead out] has become not something that leads to the development of the human character (alas!) but vocational training – much to the detriment of the human community. What education gives us these days is soulless malcontents.

Well, enough of my “old man” bitching. I’m rooting for the heart. I intend to pay attention to not trusting the heart to “chance influences”. I intend to feed my heart with “good things”. Positive people and friends. Beauty. Laughter. Generosity. Wonder. Delight. Appreciation.

Come to think of it, “Grandfather’s house” is a metaphor for the heart’s abode.

Brian+