“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” -Antonine de Saint-Exupery
An alcoholic who’s lost everything… the abused… the divorced… the abandoned… the moral failure… the scarred…
There are several forms of brokenness all around us, as well as within. As we move through the world, our eyes can quickly follow our fleshly thoughts to make judgments about those we come into contact with each day or perhaps for the first time.
As we evaluate another person’s circumstances we may cling tightly to how we have somehow done “better” through our own choosing, or perhaps how “lucky” we were because we weren’t born into a less desirable circumstance or that we didn’t experience a certain traumatic event… It is tempting to follow the prompting of our ego to gain distance from the “undesirables”: whether that means circumstances or others who can’t hide their brokenness and can’t seem to find their way back to that “accepted” place.
What may be profound, is that the very connection to what we most long to avoid can awaken a new part of us. If we risk moving closer to who/what we fear, we may discover instead of being consumed by these unwanted trait, that we instead find our way to more love and acceptance. We may be surprised how easily we can fall in love/care/concern with a person we initially wanted to reject, just because we had the courage to be close and listen with our hearts and be present. We may be surprised as well how their brokenness and story may not be so different from our own after all. Perhaps by loving them in a new way we can also expand this to love ourselves in a new way as well. It can be refreshing to let go of judgment and just be with another and even with our own imperfections.
When we dare to let go of our judgments and insecurities and offer love without fear, we can begin to see with our hearts.
~MM