Honoring Your Heart
In honor of Heart Awareness month, I find myself reflecting on how I’m tending to my heart. There are many ways to think about our hearts…
Our physical heart - how healthy is that organ of ours that pumps blood all day, every day, every night? Am I working it enough with exercise? Feeding it the right foods? How are my blood pressure and cholesterol levels doing? How long has it been since I checked them?
But what about our metaphorical heart? Our emotional heart? How is our sense of passion and purpose? What role does love play in our life?
My emotional heart has been up and down, full of love and compassion at times, grief, sadness, and anger at other times. And in this pandemic, even unfamiliar feelings like boredom and apathy have shown up.
This weekend I found my heart heavy, my motivation low, and some “part” of me NOT okay with this, wanting me to make good use of the time and be productive. Surely there was something I should do. But no will to do any of it.
Instead of giving into my “productive part,” I felt into the heaviness in my chest, the discomfort of not knowing what to do about it or what to do with my time. The feelings and sensations had no specific content for me to attach them to or blame them on. So I simply allowed the heaviness to be there and asked the question… how can I honor my heart right now? What does it need?
I decided to put aside any notion of being useful and instead asked my husband to take me on a coastal drive. My heart wanted to be outside and in the sun, to feel the ocean breeze on my face and feel the sense of expansion I get when I’m in a place of great beauty and awe. And I was hungry for a change in perspective, knowing in my gut this would serve me. So with my love by my side, we headed on our way.
Upon returning, I was a little clearer about the heaviness and gave it some space. I also felt better, things were okay, I had given myself and my heart something nourishing, shed a few tears, and took it easy. I was grateful for my intuition (and sunny California weather)!
I woke up the next day feeling renewed. My heart had been honored, no answers, just a bit of time, beauty, nature, and love.
An invitation for reflection…
When you feel into the area in your chest, around your heart, what do you notice?
What does your heart long for? What feels missing? What happens if you just feel that?
What role does love play in your life? Who cares for you and who do care for in return? How do you extend this love and care to those that you live or work with?
What are you grateful for? How are you showing appreciation?
What connects you to your sense of purpose? How are you living that?