Have you ever envisioned this metaphor? In my mind, the words create this picture of a bright red heart (blood red, I suppose) completely separate from the body. The heart has different points along the surface where pieces of thread are sewn into the tissue - the threads appear to be pulled off towards different directions. The heart contracts and expands with its life-giving pump, but as it completes this common act it alternates in pulling each of these threads. To the observer, there may appear to be little damage, as the threads are pulled tight. However, to the heart and the soul it is connected to - each pump and each thread are felt deeply.
In our lives each of these strings are attached to various things - our family, our friends, our dreams, our home, and other things that we form attachments too. As I begin to move back into my newly renovated home, I face the challenge of purging items I no longer need. Yet, as I attempt to part with certain items I find it difficult to let go of these attachments.
At times these strings must survive great strain. Where at moments, it does feel as if each beat of our hearts causes a deep pain that rips at our very core. My puppy Radar, who was only a part of my family for a short time, was quick to sew a thread into my heart. I felt joy in spending time with him playing, relaxing, and finding solace in another being which asked nothing but simple love in return. Last week his short time with me ended abruptly when he was hit by a car; immediately causing my heartstrings to pull so tight I felt as though it were ripping at my heart. Although it is both difficult and frustrating to experience such loss - it is this ability to form attachments and feel so deeply that makes us souls not just bodies.
In watching a loved one or even a complete stranger experience pain, we are able to develop an instant attachment, which then flows into a deep heart of compassion. This ability to feel deeply is what stirs us to comfort someone grieving, or support a less fortunate child. It leads us to stand-up for someone being bullied, to play with children, and to provide physical care for those who need the assistance. At times we repress these feelings of compassion and raw emotion for fear of social implications and the vulnerability we feel in that moment. How both sad and terrifying because it is what makes us human, it is what keeps evil from having full reign over the world.
Although there has been serious tension on my heartstrings lately, I know that the feeling of pain and compassion lead me in a more genuine direction towards being a soul that will give, listen and love. What if when our heartstrings were pulling us in a certain direction - what if just followed where they lead?
