the heart

The heart. This beautiful muscle at the center of it all. 

Protected behind ribs, pulsing with life, or perhaps  jumping to be set free out from behind the cage, to open, share and spread joy... this symbol of love. 

The yoga classes I've been taking have a lot of focus on the heart, bringing your shoulder blades on to your back to open your chest and let your heart go first, and bowing first to your heart to the beauty that is inside you which is the same beauty inside all of of... 

The heart gets a lot of attention. Particularly today. What symbol is more synonymous with Valentine's Day than the heart?

The heart is also often described as fragile - people are heartbroken when there is loss. 

When I was in 4th grade a girl named Tanya temporarily transferred to my school from Kodiak Alaska. She came down here to get a heart transplant at Stanford Hospital. It seemed a success, her body with someone else's heart. Her family headed back up to Alaska. She caught a cold around Seattle and they went to the hospital. She died there a few days before her birthday. All I could think about was how she'd told me all she wanted was to be home for her birthday. She was the first person I was close to that passed away. 

So it's an interesting thing now when a doctor suggested that perhaps my dad needs a heart transplant. It's incredible that such a thing is even possible. The heart has been a big topic of conversation in my family over the last year, with my father's diagnosis of amyloidosis which for him is mostly manifested in his muscles but also in his heart and more recently being told he has congestive heart failure, the heart is a hot topic. 

There's such a duality of ideas about what to do with the heart - open your heart, protect your heart; keep your heart, get a new heart - how confusing to have such mixed messages. If you don't open your heart you don't really get to experience joy and you don't let yourself experience loss. It is in those places that seem the darkest that we find the most space to grow and shine. 

So I suggest that starting on this day, Valentine's Day, you live with your heart open. Share your beautiful light, telling those you love that you love them and and shining your light on others you come across. Opening up to all possibilities so you can live and love more fully because you never know how long you will be here.