Mindfulness Changes Series (012) – Guard Your Heart; it’s a reservoir where springs of life flows

https://triciagoyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/hearttree-copy.jpg

Introduction

We engaged in a conversation at the workplace during our workout session that got me thinking about the world we leave in. The world is filled with constant information overload, negativity and heart breaking practices. We are exposed to negative news, toxic influences and harmful habits that have the  potential to harm our emotional well being. A lot of people are suffering and broken. People are filled with thoughts of ending lives for having lost hope for living.

 

The world is filled with a lot of heart breaking issues. Some of which are hunger, child abuse or labor, witchcraft, unemployment, poverty, miscarriage, sexual harassment. Women and men are looking for marriages, and some that are already in marriage desire to end it. People have no access to healthcare, education and other basic needs. So many people live in isolation and loneliness. A lot of heart breaking situations happen across the world posing our hearts to a huge risk. In a world filled with painful emotional challenges, how should we survive? How should we protect ourselves from toxic influences?

 

The imagination

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTy4Xo-U_DocblN0Vxe6xS5X-DgQnqSyNym0w&usqp=CAU

As I looked at this source of light surrounded by this beautiful protective hedge, I drew into my mind eye. I imagined myself standing at the centre of a beautiful garden filled with beautiful flowers and green grass. By relating to a garden I mean my emotional space (inner self, emotions and thoughts). Then I imagined planting various beautiful hedges around this garden. One hedge symbolizing self-love and self compassion. Another indicating self-respect and self-worth. Then one portraying mindfulness and emotional awareness. And one symbolizing healthy boundaries in my relationships. I started attaching a beautiful different color to each hedge.

 

After I envisioned myself pruning and watering these hedges to grow taller and stronger as they serve as protective barriers to my garden. I started seeing myself safe, empowered and staying at peace because of the power to control who and  what enters my garden. In addition, I imagined staying at centered of these hedges, to visualize them growing stronger providing security and the emotional protection I need. Aside from protecting myself from the emotional challenges, I imagined opening up my hedges to let in positive experiences and healthy relationships.

 

I looked at a level where I am in full control of these hedges and adjusting them as needed to let in what I desire and let out what I do not desire. I visualized the ultimate impact of the edges where they are at a level where they are able to fully guard against the evil outside world and I saw myself moving through this life with a sense of detachment, seeking safety with my emotional stronghold. The garden imagined is the heart that I desire us to posses and the hedges are the protective materials acting as boundaries to safeguard our hearts from harm.

 

The reflection

As my mind wondered over the above imagination, I asked myself a question. “If someone left me down today, as in ended a relationship. And I beat down myself or get filled with suicidal thoughts; what risk would that pose to my heart? Actually, I have experienced a heart break before. And, I found out that it is one disgusting experience that can make life a nuisance.  I continued to ask, “If someone killed his family for not having what to feed it like the case during COVID 19, do they really treasure their hearts?”

 

Or to sum up the questions that come to my mind, “If anything bad happened targeting to hurt or break my heart”; How prepared am I to keep them from breaking?. “Do I just give in and freely allow the external world  to affect me?” What control do I have over my heart? I was then drawn to a wise saying from the book of proverbs from which I found the answer to my curiosity.

 

Here is the answer – Guard your heart

I came to an agreement that, challenges in life are inevitable and we can not hide from them. Therefore, because our hearts are vulnerable to external influences that can impact our well being; we need to do a favor to our hearts as guided by King Solomon for which he said;

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV).

We can agree that Proverbs 4:23 indicates that all issues of life originate from the heart. The heart is the source where life spread out to other body parts. The heart generally spread blood to the different parts of our body. And in any case when the heart fail to supply blood to all body parts we face issues. Issues are quite many and some include fatigue, swelling in the legs or arms, numbness, chest pain, kidney dysfunction, risk of blood clots, heart failure, shortness of breath, poor quality of life, etcetera. I have encountered some of these and the pain has been unbearable.

 

Why guard the heart

Life starts and ends from the heart. The heart is not merely a physical organ but a container collecting our emotions, thoughts, desires, and beliefs. Like a water reservoir constructed to provide storage and release water, so is the heart designed by God to provide storage and release emotions or thoughts; some which may be positive and others negative. These emotions or thoughts are what springs forth the quality of who we are. By recognizing the pivotal role our hearts play in our lives, we gain a deeper understanding of the ultimate care and protection our heart needs. Like a hedge surrounding a garden, protecting it from external threats, our hearts too need a hedge to protect it from harm.

 

If we leave our hearts unguarded, we give away to negative thoughts, toxic influences, and unnecessary mental weights to penetrate it. This is bad! The good news is that we can create a shield or a protective barrier to guard against external emotional challenges such that we can navigate through the ups and down of life with strong and resilient hearts.

 

The heart is a well-spring of life. A well-spring means a source of abundant and continual supply of something; say emotions for the hearts’ case. Let’s compare our hearts to an aquifer. An aquifer is a body of porous rock or sediment saturated with groundwater. The ground water level in aquifers is not usually constant. The changes in these water levels are dependent on the recharge from soil infiltration after precipitation has occurred. So, in any case if the drought hits the land surface it can impact the water level. Relating the aquifer to the heart, drought is the emotional challenges the result from the outside world which have the potential to disrupt our hearts. Thus, the need to recharge or guard our hearts from these challenges so that we may continue possessing wellsprings that are able to nourish and sustain us.

 

Steps for guarding over your heart

 

• Practice self-awareness or self-reflection

Take a conscious effort to gain an in-depth understanding of your feelings, thoughts, drives or restrictions. Identify your negative habits, triggers or negative influences that affect your heart’s health. This practice open path towards making conscious decisions and identifying actions to be taken towards protecting your heart.

 

• Surround yourself with positive influences and engage in self-care

Our hearts are positively or negatively impacted by the company we keep. It’s essential that you nourish yourself with positive and uplifting influences, as these will protect your heart from negative influences. Be on the lookout for people who motivate, challenge and push you to be the best version of yourself. And once you find them stick around them. Engage in activities that uplift your heart and promote your emotional well being. Do whatever brings you joy, fulfillment and peace. It could be an hobby, exercising, spending time with loved ones, or simply spending time with yourself. Also practice mindfulness.

 

• Set healthy boundaries

Figure out what’s okay and what’s not in your relationships, job, and personal life. Let people around you know what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in terms of their behaviors and actions. By setting boundaries clearly, you create a space for yourself that’s free from negative influences and destructive behavior. By setting boundaries, you’ll be able to put your health first and shield your heart from any unnecessary pain or stress.

 

• Forgive

We tend to hold on to emotions we don’t like. For instance grudges, anger or resentment which can really hurt our feelings and stop us from living a peaceful life. You need to protect your heart and forgive the people who hurt you, and forgive yourself too. Forgiveness will free you from holding on to negative emotions thus allowing you a space in your heart to heal, grow, and change.

 

• Practice gratitude

When your heart is filled with gratitude, you can focus on what you have instead of what you don’t. Practicing gratitude serves as a reminder of your many blessings, both large and small, that surround you every day. A grateful heart promotes positivity, contentment, resilience and shields you from negativity and dissatisfaction.

 

Some of the things that happen when our hearts are guarded

 

• We grow

Protecting our hearts allows us to grow as individuals. We become more conscious of the information we absorb; we pay attention to the habits we form and the activities we do on a daily basis. With a shield around our hearts, we shape it in the right direction, allowing us to be flexible and open to learning.

 

• We become equipped to stay to our core values and beliefs

Once we protect our hearts, it becomes easier for us to hold on to what we believe in. With a protective circle around our hearts, we become more selective about what we can let into our hearts. And, what we can let go of because the heart wants to protect our values from being lost. And while we do that, we stay on the road to living a life that matches our true selves.

 

• We cultivate emotional resilience

We can’t avoid life’s challenges, and to overcome them, we must cultivate a resilience spirit. Protecting our hearts is what helps us cultivate this resilience spirit. This resilience spirit allows us to bounce back from failure and face challenges head-on. People who protect their hearts are better able to manage their emotions, stay positive, and face challenges with strength.

 

• We add a positive impact to other people’s lives

Protecting your hearts enables you to get equipped with positive messages that can influence the lives of others. By embracing your life with an attitude of emotional health and personal growth you become a source of inspiration, comfort, and compassion to others. You will be leading by example and inspire others to follow you, thus enabling the wounded to recharge their hearts with positivity and thus end up experiencing the springs of life flowing freely.

 

Conclusion

In a world full of emotional challenges, it is important for us to protect ourselves from negative and toxic influences and how we do that is by guarding our hearts. We need to guard our hearts through the establishment of the emotional boundaries to preserve our emotional well-being and thus live a more fulfilled life. It is important to know why guarding our heart is necessary because that way we will be able to take conscious steps towards guarding over it. And as we take conscious steps to guard our hearts a lot of benefits await us.

 

It is crucial to remember that the power lies within us to protect and nurture our hearts, ensuring that it remains a source of joy, love, and vitality. I am not encouraging you to put a hedge around your heat by building walls and shutting yourself off from the world. The idea is to equip you with emotional well-being and a mindset that refuses to be shaken by external circumstances. Unless we guard our hearts, we deprive ourselves from the privilege of creating a space where the springs of life flow freely.

 

Prioritize taking care of your heart. Self-care is not selfish; it is just, and indicator that you love and cherish everything about you. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The first wealth is health.” And Bryant McGill said “Health is a priceless wealth. Invest while you can.” I hope that you will invest in your heart health and selfishly guard it against harm. I will leave you with this verse.

“Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies”. (Mathew 15:17-19 NKJV).

Reflection

Have you ever thought about how valuable your heart really is? And that the phrase “someone broke my heart” should be taken out of your vocabulary. Can you consider putting in place some hedges or emotional boundaries to protect your heart? Do you recognize that the springs of life flows from the heart? And you can recharge these springs by undertaking practices share herein? Start today to practice these steps and you will experience the transformative power of a guarded heart. Important to notice is that, as you guard your heart from negative experiences, you MUST open it up in circumstances where it benefits from positivity.

**********Thank you for sparing your time to read*********