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This question often comes up in fiction, either in books or on t.v. One of my favorite shows, “Bones”, shows the dichotomy of being led by the head versus being led by the heart in the dynamic existing between the two main characters, Dr. Brennan, who is driven by rationality to the extreme and Agent Booth who, in contrast, is driven by his heart and instinct. Neither one nor the other is shown as “better”, rather they are used very effectively as the contrast needed to highlight the differences that separate yet also compliment the characters’ unique relationship with each other.

Perhaps in passing, I might have asked myself that question in relation to myself and my approach to life and its myriad of problems and dilemmas, but I have never answered myself. I don’t believe that I am driven by just one facet or the other. I think that I am driven by both my head and my heart equally. It’s been so long however, since I’ve made a decision that affected only myself. Being in a marriage for soon to be twenty-one years, all the big decisions have been made by both my husband and myself. Some of them may have been emotional but there was also common sense involved and those two facets had equal weight in our decisions. I can see how you might decide something in the spur of the moment but I usually throw the brakes on and think about clinically for a bit to make sure that the decision is a sound one for both the head and the heart. Usually, if one part isn’t happy, the other part won’t be either. At least for myself, if something doesn’t sit right in my head, then it won’t sit right in my heart. I can’t see how it can be one or the other and not both in harmony.