Living life from your heart – how does that sound? Cookoo or downright Kooky! Only for the new age wide low pant hipsters who live on air, meditation and skinny almond milk chia lattes? Still sounds pretty good to me! How often do you live life, make daily decisions, goals, plans and dreams, from your heart? Rather than just your head, brain, a spreadsheet and set of carefully considered set of rationales with pros and cons?
I wish I had listened to my heart more often as I look back on some of the crossroads, I’ve found myself at different times in my life. The signals of the heart beat loud and true and many a time despite knowing what my heart sang out loud and clear, I went ahead with what seemed rational, expected, was the “responsible” thing to do, would please other people or was some goal to be ticked off along the journey of one’s life.
In our modern world our focus seems to be on strategically planning our lives more from a rational and considered point of view. I am not saying that to follow one’s heart is not a rational or considered process. I believe from experience; it should be part of the process and have equal merit if not more merit when it comes to living our lives. To live from the heart means we are authentic, true to ourselves and the decisions we make will be aligned with our values, beliefs and the core of who we are.
The costs for me of not having done this are resentment, regret and often finding I forced myself to participate in things that I did not enjoy and even found myself compromised. Now I am not wanting to paint an entirely bleak picture, but life is short hey! We ourselves can only make decisions and decide on the paths we take. At times this requires a dedicated listening to what our hearts are saying. What they are saying is for a reason. It is valid, in a similar way that intuition is also valid, that feeling we get in our gut when we know something is not right or is damn right! Yes, we don’t live in isolation of others. Yes, we do need to live and work together with for example our partners, children, colleagues and friends. Sometimes compromise is required, but sometimes so is assertiveness and conveying to others the truth coming from our hearts. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and regrets are mostly useless! Reflection is never wasted as tomorrow, next week and next year are another time ahead to reshape things and live a life from the heart.
Take a moment fellow people, to stop and listen to your hearts! It is not selfish. It is not being self-absorbed. The feelings I get in my heart are almost tangible when they are overlooked, ignored or brushed aside. A physical pain, a wretched pain, like my soul has been forced to be invisible. Sounds dramatic doesn’t it? Join the Bleeding Hearts Club! Oh, she goes on! Seriously, take a moment. Listen to your heart. It won’t be a moment wasted. Feel your heart beat. Live more from your heart. This will bring more kindness to yourself and others.
Written from my heart for yours.
Iris May
30th June 2020
Be Kind to Yourselves - BK2Y 