To Live Fully [1-Minute Wednesday #11]
My 1-Minute Wednesday series pairs a brief piece of music with a piece of thought-provoking text.
TO LIVE FULLY
Why is it difficult to live life with an open heart? Is fear really easier to choose than love? It often seems so…
We fearfully guard our hearts against pain. Perhaps we hope the inevitable hurts of loss, rejection, grief, and disappointment won’t sting quite as sharply if we barricade the door and close the shades, until just a sliver of light reaches inside.
All of us done this to a degree, keeping the world at whatever distance feels safe to us. But our emotional isolationism is sure to backfire. Sadly, this ploy also keeps us numb to joy, connection, excitement, and love. In letting life in, we cannot pick and choose which parts we want. And for even for the most battle-hardened among us, the best moments of life are our most vulnerable. The moments when life overcomes our defenses are the most powerful, beautiful, and real experiences.
If we can learn to lower our shields, life flows back to us, with all that comes with it. But even with the inevitable heartbreak, loss, and suffering that are surely in store for each of us, embracing these negatives as part of a greater palate of emotion leaves a beautiful poignancy to even bitter emotion.
Sometimes it takes something to shock our system, to bring us back to ourselves.
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