“I tell you this to break your heart, by
which I mean only that it break open and never close again to the rest of the
world.” –Mary Oliver
Oh, it is hard to
have one’s heart broken! And there are so many differing circumstances which are
apt to break that seed open, which often we try so hard to avoid. But, therein lies both the problem and the solution.
For if having
our hearts broken is essential for growth—for opening to the world and to each
other—there must be some value in respecting heart-break when it comes, for
attending to the healing process in such a way that we augment our heart’s
resiliency and potential for growth, rather than compromise it by shutting down.
Isn’t it
paradoxical, then, that the closed heart should be the one so vulnerable to
cracking up under pressure, when you’d think it would be the one that is ostensibly
more vulnerable for it being soft, open and undefended?
But the secret
here is that open hearts are resilient, and having your heart broken is simply part of life—a work-out for
the soul (for hearts open or closed) that is a necessary and valuable part of one’s spiritual path.
It’s not right
or wrong, bad or good. It just is—a process of transformation.
And though this
process is often arduous and uncomfortable, resisting transformation will only
leave us stunted, unhappy versions of ourselves, which I think is worse still.
So, break open
and never close—the former is practically inevitable, the latter we must
choose.
