Keep Your Heart Above Your Head

My guess is that some of you out there are country music fans; I know my oldest brother is, and I never could figure why he and all the rest of you are. Today I may be a bit closer to understanding it. So, you all probably knew about Zac Brown before last week, which is when I ran across him. I was raised on soul and rock and roll, so the closest I got to country music was when Jimmy Buffett lost his bearings and sailed into the world of country music with Alan Jackson and (you guessed it) Zac Brown. Anyway a good friend and I have been having a little discourse on open hearts and intellectualism. The question is how to open your heart to everything in life, accepting the good and the bad, without over-thinking it all. This friend has helped me understand it, with a little help from Zac Brown. Zac wrote a song relating his father's advice to him—I'll borrow three lines from his piece, "Let It Go,"—
Save your strength for things that you can change, and forget the ones you can't...
My sense is that many of us spend time over-thinking the past, which cannot be changed, and the actions and statements of others—which you have only a limited chance to influence, so forget about intellectually understanding, or explaining, or rationalizing. Just let them go.
Keep your heart above your head, and your eyes wide open, so this world can't find a way to leave you cold.
So, how do you know what to do in life, when you face decisions, choices, and more? I am certain of one thing, you can't think your way into making up your mind. You make decisions with your heart. Oh, you can think about it, and you can create models for decision-making, but what do you do in the end? You go with your heart, and you ACT. To me, that's keeping "your heart above your head." Sure, you keep your head in it, but you keep your heart above all.
You only get one chance to make your mark in this life, when the pony-he comes riding by-you better get your sweet a- - on it.
I'm back to the need to act. You'll never think your way into a happy life; you jump on before the pony rides on by. I think I know now why some people enjoy country music. Yep, I did say "I think." In my heart, I'm sure you already know I bought his music and I'm listening to it way too often.