~ This piece was originally written for the free ebook Listen to the Voice of Your Heart but I just know these words are meant to be shared here too ~
Say inner compass and I get lingering with my heart. Always a good thing. This heart of mine has plenty to say. Only I spent a long while pushing it aside; ignoring its whispers and gentle tugs. I was too busy you see, listening to my head – it’s also never short of a word.
Say inner compass and I get lingering with my heart. Always a good thing. This heart of mine has plenty to say. Only I spent a long while pushing it aside; ignoring its whispers and gentle tugs. I was too busy you see, listening to my head – it’s also never short of a word.
Truth is {and I still get a little embarrassed admitting it} it took this body of mine falling apart – practically kicking and screaming at me from the inside – before I started listening. And when I did, when I first stopped to say hello heart, and listen for its answer – wow! My heart spoke words of wisdom, comfort and love – and it had the answers I’d been searching for, it knew how to heal, and it offered guidance as I navigated change. So much change.
The more I listen to my heart, the more wisdom it reveals.
Here’s a little of what I’ve learnt, but of course the learning continues...
~ A heart practise makes me a better version of me.
Doing a little something that speaks to my heart each day is essential to my wellbeing. I used to think of this as indulgent. Not anymore. I know this makes me a better version of me. By tuning in to my heart, my core, my essence I not only give myself energy to simply be, but I create more energy to give.
Finding that little heart-centred something can be the
tricky part, as well as finding the time. For me, a simple mindful exercise can
be enough. Stepping outside, looking to the sky and giving thanks each morning
(a two-minute ritual, perhaps less) can begin my day. Sometimes I’ll escape to
the beach (often with my two daughters in tow) to sit and just be, to take
photographs, to breathe. Some days it’s not until late at night when the house
is quiet that I can find that heart time – and it’s often meditation, yoga or
journaling that speak to my heart loudest. Sometimes stopping to check in with my
breath can be enough, and less than a minute can be all it takes.
~ Just breathe.
At perhaps the most crucial, sometimes fear-driven, sometimes anxious and sometimes uncertain times of my life, I have turned to my heart and I’ve heard “just breathe”. Putting these two little words into action can be so powerful.
I like to remind myself that to breathe is to have life. And
with each slow conscious inhalation and exhalation, I give myself an
opportunity to tune into my heart and my body, to notice little moments, to
reconnect, to simply be. Just breathing, placing one hand on my heart and one
on my torso and feeling that breathe, being with that breath – that’s as good a
meditation as any for me.
I think our hearts are full of lessons and love and a
wondrous energy that thrives on connection. I think when we tune in to our hearts,
when we really listen and express from there, that’s when anything is possible.
I think that’s when we learn that something extra about ourselves that can be
the change we need in our world.
xx
~ I wrote this piece for a free ebook by my inspiring friend Deb (jewelry designer, writer and author of the blog Inner Compass Designs). The nurturing ebook titled Listen to the Voice of Your Heart is filled with heart-centered words from 14 women sharing their journeys, their wisdom, their hearts, what they know to be true. You can download it for free here.
