The language of the heart

Filmmaker Nic Askew treats his audience with beautiful short films & stories about Life & the Human Spirt. Soulbiographies, he calls them. One of the movies that touched me deeply was an interview with old men and women in Guatemala. Nic wanted to capture the soul of Guatemala but during the interiew he couldn't understand the local language that the old people spoke. He tried hard to listen to their words. And then he gave up. He started to listen to their voice, he looked in their eyes and face and watched their gestures. He immediately understood what they were saying. He discovered that his attempts to understand their words kept him away from being open with his heart directly to theirs.

Last month I had a business meeting in Madrid. Although the preparations where in English, during the meeting my Spanish hosts preferred to do the meeting in Spanish. I immediately tried to do my best to speak and understand the Spanish language with the knowledge I've once learned at school. I failed. Then I stopped trying to translate their words and started listening. Just listening. Then I could connect with their hearts and then I really understood what they wanted us to do and what their hopes and concerns were.

Now I give more attention to the language of the Heart. Even in meetings in my own language

Look for Nic Askew's short films at: www.monday9am.tv