"my heart is a traitor," the boy said, "it doesn't want me to go on."

"that makes sense," the alchemist answered. "naturally, it's afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you've won."

"well then, why should i listen to my heart?"

"because you will never again be able to keep it quiet. even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to you what you're thinking about life and about the world."

"you mean i should listen, even if it's treasonous?"

"treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. if you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you. because you'll know its dreams and wishes, and will know how to deal with them.

you will never be able to escape from your heart. so it's better to listen to what it has to say. that way, you'll never have to fear an unanticipated blow."

"my heart is afraid that it will have to suffer."

"tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. and that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."

are you a follower of your heart or your head?

i do agree that if you believe in Divinity (whither you are a christian, catholic, muslim, judaist, animist, or just an agnostic who believes there's an unnamed higher power), you are more able to follow your heart, secure in the knowledge that something or someone wiser is watching over you.

but what if you're an aethist? how coincidental is it that most aethists are staunch followers of their head?

are you a follower of your heart of your head?

sometimes - i fear - we are all followers of both, and the head usually wins.