The Gift of The Heart

Hello dear ones,

Here’s what’s been on my mind today ….
“Our hearts don’t break.”

That’s the thought that kept coming to me this morning when I reflected on a note a friend had just sent me.  His heart is aching as a beloved relationship shifts away from romance.   I know what it’s like when my heart hurts so deeply that I can’t catch my breath.   It can even seem that life won’t go on, at least not in a way that has any rhyme or reason to it.

But I don’t think it’s our hearts that shatter, when we say we have a broken heart.

Anahata …  This is a  Sanskrit word meaning “un-struck, un-hurt, un-beaten”.  Anahita is the name of the fourth chakra ….  The heart chakra.  To me the name is beautiful. It reminds me that underneath the tremendous sorrow, pain and disappointment I can feel, my heart is a pure place that is whole and un-hurtable.

When I say I have a broken heart, I know what has truly shattered are my stories and ideas of how life should be …… the dreams of a trusted future I was taking for granted … the fantasies of “could have been” and “should have been”.

Could it be that the fierce pain that arises in our heart, is our heart’s own voice asking us to embrace the full spectrum of our humanness by feeling all the emotions that arise?

When we take the risk of fully feeling all that is behind what is breaking in us …  if we engage in a vulnerable conversation with our fears, doubts and longings …  we can be brought to our knees in awe at the grace, wisdom and unfathomable love of the heart.     Here our heart IS broken… broken OPEN by Love itself.

The heart hasn’t shattered like a piece of glass.  It’s the breaking open of a cocoon that invites the butterfly to emerge.

I think this is where true compassion and empathy are found…. In the un-struck heart that has broken open to love.

Now, when I remember, and I hear the word “heartbreaking”,  I’m going to add “open”.
Heart-Breaking -Open

If this resonates with you, take a moment to reflect on a time when you felt like your heart was breaking…
What was truly breaking?
What was longing to be felt?
What gifts were there for you?
What were you opened to?

… And offer gratitude to Anahata, your beautiful un-struck heart.

Namaste,
Sharon