Embody Love
There is great power in Love. Not the touchy feely type of love, rather the Love that shows up time and time again bringing hope, compassion, respect, balance, active listening and presence…there is power in a generous, radical Love.
So, why the heart?
Why Love?
For me, Love is at the center of all choices.
I endeavor to see through the eyes of my heart.
The Intellect is vital to life. Knowledge gleaned from study, life and circumstances is valuable, and yet when a person resides exclusively in their mind, concepts, people and even Divine presence can be kept at arms length.
Imagine learning everything there is to know about a human baby having never held or been in the presence of a live baby.
You can learn about the growth and transformation that takes place within the uterus for nine months.
You can study the birth process.
You might want to learn about feeding and care of a newborn and their typical waking sleeping and growth patterns.
Growth and Development is its own category.
All of this is good information, highly recommended and may even be considered essential knowledge for first time parents. Intellect. Knowledge. We know everything we need to know about a baby.
Now imagine carrying a baby inside your body for nine months. Feel the baby move…a tiny flutter at first and then big stretching movements and if your baby is like my son they might spin on your bladder at nine months.
Imagine giving birth…not the early part with a sense of tightening of the uterus… imagine the end during what those of us who birth babies call transition, when the pain is beyond anything you could imagine. Imagine pushing your baby out of your body and the sheer joy in holding your baby for the first time.
This is the work of active presence.
This is a process that can’t be kept at arms length…
The intellect may inform the way she breathes, the way she approaches the experience but in the end…
This is the work of the heart.
When a woman is in labor she is fully present to each and every moment.
Heart work.
Presence.
Love.
What if we choose to be fully present to the Divine in the way we as parents are fully present to a newborn baby? You know the one that keeps us up in the middle of the night. And how can you describe that newborn baby scent?
What if instead of reading about the Divine we open the eyes of our heart to the Holy each and every day.
When we see through eyes of the heart, the world and all of creation looks different.
I think about the man Jesus healed of blindness in the gospel of Mark. After Jesus heals him, scripture says “the man gazed and he said, “I see people like trees that are walking.” Mark 8:23-24 Jesus places his own saliva in the man’s eyes. What if the man was seeing as Jesus saw? What if he was seeing the energetic field around peoples’ bodies, what we would call an aura today? In the passage Jesus lays hands on the man a second time and readjusts his vision and the scripture says ‘the man saw everything with perfect distinctness.’ I imagine Jesus saw through eyes of the heart and more…What if we could see like Jesus?
In The Meaning of Mary Magdalene Cynthia Bourgeault says “The remedy Jesus sets forth for (this) cosmic malaise is to “find contentment at the level of the heart…in the presence of the Image of your true nature.” She goes on to explain that ‘heart’ is being used in a very specific manner. “The heart is primarily an instrument of sight-or insight…it’s purpose is to navigate and stay in alignment with one’s true nature. The heart is a vibrant resonate field, it functions as a homing beacon between realms; and when it is strong and clear, it creates a synchronous resonance between them.” Mary Magdalene saw through eyes of the heart. I wonder if this quality was part of her bond with Jesus. Were they kindred souls? Certainly he saw her intelligence and capability as a leader, an apostle of the apostles. Seeing through the eyes of her heart also explains Mary Magdalene’s ability to stay present to Jesus when he appears to her in visions, while also going about her earthly business with a serene confidence of one whose life is always flowing in harmony with Greater.
You see, when we live our lives seeing through the eyes of the heart we look at everyone and everything with compassion, gratitude and love. We walk with a ‘serene confidence’ through our days. The more we step onto this heart path the more deeply rooted we are in Divine Presence within us and all around us. We embody Love.
May it be so in you.
May it be so in me.
Mary Ann
