Opening the Heart

Tenderness and Compassion

One stormy day recently, I heard a loud thump as if something had been thrown against the window. When I looked there was a female blackbird lying upside-down with her little head bent back beneath her body. I ran outside and very gently picked her up. I was delighted to see her neck wasn’t broken and a few moments later, she moved her wings. Incredible that she wasn’t dead. I quickly found her a sheltered nook out of the wind. Watching her slowly recover, I was delighted to see her fly away about 30 minutes later. The point of this story is that

Opening the Heart can occur when we least expect it

While I held her warm body in my hands, when I felt her beating heart – the very aliveness of her, I felt so much tenderness and compassion towards this tiny creature. There is great fulfilment in rescuing and nurturing a small helpless creature. Experiencing tenderness truly opens the heart.

There’s a lovely story Dr Christiane Northrup tells about Louise Hay’s adopted shelter dog. This dog was literally minutes away from being put down when Louise came and gave it a whole new life. This little dog spent the rest of his days exuding gratitude and happiness – deeply devoted to Louise. Christiane related this story to illustrate how

Helping another creature can profoundly touch our heart

On a physical level our immunity strengthens, we secrete happy hormones and of course it has a profound effect on all our relationships. It has even been proven to help lift depression.

Self Love and Compassion

Imagine however if we could turn some of that love, compassion and tenderness back in towards ourselves. Imagine if we could hold our own wounded heart with that much love and tenderness. What effect could that have upon us? We live in a world where most people live from the head centre. Continuous thought, talking, and action, separate us from our emotions, from nature, and from people around us. But most of all, it takes us out of our bodies, potentially leaving us ungrounded.

So be grateful for any experience that touches your heart

Any experience that reconnects you to your centre. These experiences remind us of our vast unlimited, potential. We can become burnt out and exhausted from too much thought and analysis, but when we access genuine love and compassion, we open the way to unlimited growth and expansion.