The other day, while talking to my cat Pree (who passed away in January of 2008), she said something that has really stuck in my mind:
“The heart’s a muscle, too.”
The broader context involved honoring the spiritual connections around us, but we led into it by discussing my muscle atrophy and how I need to find a way to build myself back up physically. This led to contemplation on how much of the problem was physical, and how much emotional, and Pree responded with the above quip of wisdom.
I’ve known, since then, that I need to write about this. I have to confess, however, that I have no idea where I’m going with it. I guess I’ll just move my fingers on the keys and see what comes out of them.
The heart’s a muscle, too.
People exercise their muscles all the time. Muscles move our bodies, they support us, they hold us up, they keep us from falling over and they help us to lie down and rest. Sometimes the exercise of those muscles is natural and healthy, at other times it can become artificial and harmful. (I’m thinking of people who rely on substances to build muscle that is exaggerated, or people who obsess over their bodies to the point that they can focus on nothing else.)
Likewise the heart supports us: it holds us up and helps us to rest, it comforts us or it can cause us to obsess. Like muscular atrophy, the heart can also grow weak and find itself in dire need of strengthening. But how do we exercise our hearts?
Now, I’m not speaking of our physical hearts, although we need to keep those healthy, too. I’m talking about the heart of our being, our emotional center, the part which energizes us spiritually, gives us hope and faith, and which houses our belief systems. I’m talking about (Why does it always come back to this?) those emotions of Love and Fear, around which all other emotions revolve.
Just as our physical muscles will propel us forward or hold us back, our heart, our spiritual muscle, and the energy of emotion it generates and perpetuates, will do the same.
Fear and Love. Love and Fear.
Fear is like laziness: it keeps us immobile, it keeps us inactive. Fear can cause us to not move forward, not act on our dreams, not grasp an opportunity and give it a try. Fear makes us say, “That can’t be for me”, or “It must be my imagination” or “I don’t think I can handle that” when it comes time to take a step toward the life of our dreams. Fear says, “What will the neighbors think?” when you have the sudden inspiration to start selling off your belongings at a tag sale so you can move into your new dream house — the house you don’t have yet but your visualizations tell you it’s right around the corner. Fear says, “But they’ll never pick me”, when you have the urge to apply for that opening in management when you know there are dozens of others who will be applying, too.
As you give in to Fear, your heart grows quiet and inactive. It loses hope, it forgets that happiness is a choice, and it allows fear-centered emotions to become predominant.
Your spiritual center, your heart, begins to atrophy.
Love is the motivator, the energizer, the magic wand that sets your dream-world into action. As you move forward with Love, love-centered emotions begin to follow and build. The more you act, the more you set aside the fears and trust the courage, hope, happiness and peace that follows Love, the stronger your heart becomes. The more you exercise that heart with Love, the easier it becomes to move forward, until acting on those dreams that haven’t yet materialized into the physical becomes second nature.
Each step is a step closer to the Love Reality your heart wants to build. Each action, propelled by joy and courage and faith, strengthens your heart-center.
The heart’s a muscle, too. It needs exercise. In order to get your heart moving, you do the same as you would to get your physical muscles moving after a long period of inactivity.
You take a step. You act. You move. Inactivity atrophies the heart muscle just as it does the physical muscles. There are times that these two “muscular systems” are tied closely together, other times not so closely but the link is still there. Exercise means movement.
Take a step toward your dreams. Feel your heart begin to pump the Love, the Joy, the Courage. Revel in those happy emotions and build on them. Each step adds a bit of weight to the barbells that will strengthen your heart.
Happiness is a choice. Even if you feel weak at heart today, make the choice to laugh anyway. Faux-smiles soon become real ones, and real happiness will gradually flood your soul. You’ll feel the energy build, your spiritual feet will get moving, and your heart will propel you forward. The steps may be small at first but, just like physical muscular regeneration, you will gradually grow stronger. Bigger, more fluid steps are bound to follow, and soon you’ll be running, jumping, flying…. Courage and Love will become the norm.
It takes a strong heart to change reality for the better. The more you exercise your soul-center, your source of Joy, the stronger it becomes. When you visualize every day, be open to little ways you can move toward your dreams. Soon the steps will become bolder as the doors open around you and you and your Strong Heart can stride right on through them.
From my heart to yours … wishing you all joy!
