Living with an Open Heart

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There is this way of being that is meant to protect the heart

A kind of fright that is found in the mind

The brain is a clever tool but is not meant to lead

It's much more effective taking a back seat

Photo by Mathew Henry

When relying on the mind we often

assume the worst

It's a kind of self sacrifice that creates

a solid wall

It tells us if we expect disappointment,

we'll be less let down

If we assume we'll fail,

we'll be less defeated over time

This wall is built on a feared future

The basic premise is if we hurt ourselves, the hurt will hurt less

It creates a way of being that cuts us off from our feeling

It's meant to protect the heart but without practice the heart can grow weak

It needs proper use to be effective and resilient

The heart needs to work and with shielding it begins to shrink

We start to see that this protection comes at a price

That at some point we are no longer willing to pay

This protection is a reflection of our own wounds at play

It prevents us from living in the present and enjoying this day

Instead we reach into the feared future and stretch it under our feet

It robs us of a beautiful opportunity and replaces it with sadness and anxiety

Without this form of protection the thing we most fear would happen

We would be vulnerable

Vulnerable to despair

And vulnerable to glee

Beyond that wall of fear is a field of excitement and joy

Possibilities are open and everything can happen

It’s where the full spectrum of emotion lives

And where the full spectrum of life is

Living with an open heart is living in the moment

Where the future is unknown and yet we can receive

The blessings and the void is exactly what we need

There is a gentle trust and a letting go

We are in connection with the world and our emotional flow

Rather than walled off from ourselves and the unknown

This is the only way that we can plainly see

Accept what is, and make decisions clearly

It is safe to be open

It is safe to not know

It is safe to want

And move beyond the feared future of failure and dance in the field of present emotion