Open
Heart
“The
soul should always stand ajar.” Emily Dickinson
I
was trying to describe to my friend, Harry, how a person we both know
feels to me. There's a warm, welcoming manner, but when you try to
approach, there's a solid wall around it. You can bask in the warmth
from a distance, but you cannot get any closer. I have known other
people who have this same persona—on the surface, they seem
friendly and personal, but there is a firm invisible boundary that
cannot be broached. There's nothing wrong with having boundaries,
believe me, but boundaries don't typically contradict the
personality. One may be warm and open, and still have a boundary
around personal information and excessive exposure. That's healthy.
The problem with contradictory boundaries is that they repel
everyone—even people we might want to be close with.
Some
of us may have had bad experiences with having a too-open heart. We
may have been burned, and so, closed that portal of entry. That's
understandable for a time—to heal, to regain one's self-esteem. But
permanently closing one's heart to all comers is a sad and dangerous
business. Trust is difficult to restore, but it can be done. We might
begin by choosing one person with whom to “stand ajar.” We might
self-disclose only in ways that feel safe, and open our hearts by
degrees. Of course, the person who walks through life with an open
heart in spite of the woes it causes, is a gift to the world.
Wearing
a closed soul prevents us from learning important lessons that we are
here in the Earth School to learn. We must let the door to our hearts
stand ajar if we are to accomplish our soul's task.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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