Check your heart. Is it well?
The heart is literally and metaphorically the center of our wellbeing. It only takes a moment to check your heart health. Dr. Arrien is an indigenous anthropologist who describes the heart as having four chambers: full, open, clear, and strong. Each day, I like to check my heart in all four chambers.
Full-heartedness
When my heart is full, I am giving all of myself to the task at hand. I am present to whomever I am with—fully listening and caring for those who need me. Energetically, I am not holding back, or meting out what I have to give, for there is an abundance, a well-spring of brilliance, labor, and care that flows through me when I give fully. When I recognize I am being half-hearted (the opposite of full-hearted) it is a sign that I need to change or refuel until the spirit can freely flow through me again.
Open-heartedness
When I am closed hearted, either my heart is shrunken, too focused on the material world and all of its distractions and demands, or I am defensive, hoping no one sees my shadow. Thich Nhat Hahn it the illusion of separation. When I am closed hearted I forget that I am intricately interconnected with all of nature and all beings – and what is good for all is also good for me. When I am most fearful, most striving, most worried about me–that is when I most need to open my heart – to be love and to allow myself to be loved.
Clear-heartedness
Sometimes life is overwhelming and chaotic. When I forget about the magic and magnificence of life, I try to control it. I think I have the power to accomplish all of my goals as if life is a big machine that needs me, its master, to run it. But it goes faster and faster, and soon it becomes impossible to keep up, but fear tells me I can’t let go. But when I listen to my heart, I have faith that when I let go, my true direction will become clear, creative solutions will arise, and I will move forward with ease. When life is uncertain (like these current times) and when I am confused, I have learned to be patient. Dr. Dan Siegel says, “A synonym for uncertainty is possibility.” Therefore, I wait for clear direction.
Strong-heartedness
When I am strong-hearted what we are experiencing on the inside—my values, beliefs, thoughts, and emotions– is in alignment with what I say and how I behave on the outside. But from the day I was born, like all humans, my physical needs and my social conditioning led me away from my strong heart. When
I am weak-hearted, I say one thing, but mean another. I make commitments that I don’t agree with – sometimes taking my life down a path that is further and further from the sacred. “Know thyself,” said Socrates. When I am strong-hearted I have the courage to be my authentic self. I speak Truth. I act with Integrity.
Heart, whole, and to heal all have the same root meaning.
An education of the heart makes the human whole. It is an education of wellbeing. Teach our children well. Give them an education of the heart.