The Vitality of an Awakened Heart

Do you crave ‘something more’, but find yourself clueless as to where to begin? Or do you begin, only to realize you have lost interest in all your self-imposed ‘shoulds’? Does it seem too difficult to reach for, too painful to admit, too disruptive to announce even to yourself? Do you tell yourself you are too old to change or that this is the bed you made and now you have no choice but to sleep in it? Does your negative self-talk kill all the dreams before they even fully form?

I hear you.

You aren’t alone.

I am right here.

And I get it.

Come with me. Take my hand. Not for a day or even an hour, just for a few minutes. Let me be your friend, trust me from afar to hear you, to see you, to feel that beautiful essence that is you, the real you.

We are sitting on my couch with the fan whirring overhead. You prop up a pillow behind your back, I do the same. You realize suddenly how tropical the setting is. You see the lush flowering plants through the opened windows. You hear the birds sing their varied tunes. You breathe in ginger and gardenia and of course, the scent of the sea. A smile emerges on your face. Your eyes twinkle. You barely know me but somehow, with a twist of delighted curiosity, you already feel at home.

I invited you here because I care. I want to get to know you. Something in me tells me that yours is a bright and beautiful heart and that somewhere along the way, it went into hiding, only emerging when ‘appropriate’. Something tells me that the time is ripe for this beautiful heart of yours to reclaim its place of honor.

I invite you to speak. You don’t know where to start so you laugh a bit uncomfortably, unsure of what to say. I sense that and decide to ask you questions, questions to gently reawaken your heart.

I want to know what dream keeps coming back to you day after day, year after year. Do you remember what was important to you when you were a child? Before everything got so busy and responsible. Did you grow up to be who you wanted to be? Have you given up too many dreams? Is there one that you keep very tight, close to your heart, afraid it too, might get away?

And then I ask you if you have ever been in love. I want to hear all about it.

I want to know what your perfect day is like. From beginning to end. And to hear if you could do anything, anything at all, what it would be. What would you taste, see, feel with your finger tips and toes? What would your tummy say and how would your beating heart react?

What, I would ask, could you begin that inspires you? I would remind you that it doesn’t have to be something grand. Tiny is just fine if it feels thrilling, exciting, right for that bright and beautiful heart of yours.

What makes you smile? What makes you angry? What gives you hope? What makes you scared? What can you say to yourself next time negative thoughts try to make a home in your heart?

And as I ask you these questions that burn in my heart, I also ask them of myself. I invite myself to live my way toward my answers, and then invite you to do the same. For when we try to live our way to our answers, we begin to reacquaint ourselves with our hearts and as we do, we release a sacred elixir, the vitality of an awakened heart.