What is “the heart” truly? 

Everyone has a heart. We refer to “the heart” in our lives as a living, breathing, thinking, mechanism.

I’m not referring to the blood-pumping life-supporting physical organ in your chest. I’m referring to the idea that humans reference when speaking about anything that has to do with emotions, actions, decisions and more. 

“This is my heart speaking.” Where do the specific thoughts, emotions, and actions come from that we determine this?   

And then where do the separate thoughts, emotions, and actions come from where we identify, “This is my head speaking.” 

References to “the heart” throughout time are endless. 

You’ll consistently hear people saying the phrase, “my head versus my heart.” 

Our muscular heart doesn’t actually think like our brain…or does it? Heart transplants do show some weird after effects, like personality changes that match the previous person who owned the heart. So does it hold memories? 

The English Standard Version of the Bible mentions the heart 862 times! There is much positive sentiment around having a good and pure heart. Matthew 6:21 reads, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” And the famous repeated line from Exodus, “Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.” 

We give a lot of weight to “what our heart says” and what is it really? Is it intuition? Experience? Knowledge? Is the heart another name for our spirit or our soul? 

Merriam Webster defines the heart in a few ways, but notably it has the following definitions that are relative: personality, disposition, emotional or moral nature distinguished from the intellectual nature, one’s innermost character, feelings, and inclinations, and compassion. 

I’m very curious on what and why we came to this conclusion that the heart has its own opinion, weight, and rights. 

We reference a broken heart, a fulfilled heart, a healing heart, a cold heart, a PURE heart. It takes heart. She has a big heart, etc. 

At what point does the head and heart differ, divert, and become compartments of their own? At which thought, do we decide, “This one is coming from my head, and this other one is coming from my heart.” This is what I “know” and this is what I “feel.”

Why do we place love in our heart, and not in our brain, our foot, or our stomach? 

At what point do we know someone has a “pure heart?” And what defines a “pure heart?” Yes of course I have my subjective personal view, but do we all have a similar idea of what makes up this person? 

Is it hard to obtain, gain, or practice having a pure heart? If so, then why don’t we all have pure hearts? 

Would you agree, the world would be a better place if we all had what we all perceived was a pure heart, instead of a hard heart, such that Pharaoh displayed in his story? 

Could we agree, we are born with a pure heart? 

Children have a sense and level of purity, until they began to obtain knowledge. That is when they can decide to lie and manipulate their parents. Huh, that sounds vaguely like the story of Adam and Eve, and when they gain knowledge of good, they also gain knowledge of evil. And when we have knowledge of evil, we can think it, feel it, and do it. 

OR we can choose to have a pure heart and avoid evil thoughts, behaviors, and actions. Of course, evil is subjective here, but it makes up those things we would consider is the opposite of a pure heart. In example, lying and deception, manipulation, and trickery. 

Well I’ll leave it for your mind to ponder now, what is your personal “head space” and what is your “heart?” Who do you listen to, when, and why? How do you define your heart?

🛑 🖐️ STOP! Seriously, Why do you get up in the morning?

💖 I used to think “because I have to” and honestly, that is no way to live a life.

💖 We are blessed each day with the power to breathe, see, hear, dance, eat, and be merry. We are given a new chance each time the Lord wakes us up.

💖 Each day that we choose to cry, stay in bed, and suffer in our mental illness is another day we are not moving towards our future. >YES< it is OKAY to take some time to yourself, but in that down time, you should be meditating, praying, reflecting, and evaluating what you TRULY want out of our life. The reason we get depressed is because we are no longer feeling or doing the things that give us JOY.

💖 Think about what made you happy as a child. Write down 20 things that you did as a kid to make you happy. Begin doing those things again, as much as you desire in your heart.

💖 What does success mean to you? If you thought, “Health, happiness, joy, laughter, time with my family” you’re not alone. If you’re reading this, you most likely would rather spend your time feeding the homeless, helping seniors, volunteering with animals, or making art.

💖And why aren’t you? Why not YOU? Why not YOU?

💖 Tell me below in the comments or private DM, why not you? Why not today? Don’t give an excuse, tell me the truth. What is holding you back? Let’s demolish the negative thoughts, beliefs, habits, and passed life you want to change. Let me guide your mind into a brighter, lighter, future.

It was 1pm and I got home from my morning shift as a teacher that started at 430am. [I currently teach Chinese students how to speak English. Since they’re 13 hours ahead of us, I work in the wee hours of the night. I’ve always liked to work in this quiet time.]

I decided to take this midday break to get inspired by a business documentary. I typed in the Netflix search bar “Business,” and this was the first documentary to pop up.

At first I assumed it was a series, filled with different people, brands, and stories, but then when I lost interest in the characters, I checked the runtime: it was in fact a movie.

So I buckeled down and decided to continue listening to this documentary to see what I could get out of it. I was seeking external inspiration because I was exhausted already internally. I have to pay the bills, but if I hadn’t just worked/been awake for the past 9 hours, I may have found some internal energy.

The movie did not inspire me, but it did make me feel a lot happier about the choices I have made. All of the characters in this documentary are college students. They are all under the age of 25 and showing the drive they have. THE PROBLEM is that they are driving toward something, but not towards what they love to do.

They are all driving towards words and ideas like “RICH, SUCCESS, FINANCIALLY STABLE, and FREEDOM, ” yet they continue to find themselves poor, cold, starving, sad, and alone throughout this film. They aren’t connecting with thier product, brand, or culture. They are simply working all hours of the night FOR ANOTHER JOB.

Who cares if the company is just beginning, I thought the idea of a startup was doing something that warms you from the inside? You know, like saving a life or giving people clean water, or changing the food system…

These people were just working their asses off, complaining about their job. Even if they found success, they were still not happy. They’re like “Yep! We did it!” as if they just completed a philosophy final in college. There was no real gratification, love, or tears. It was cold, heartless, and meaningless. I wouldn’t suggest this film to anyone because it is simply un-inspired.

The film was made in the same way the students completed their work: just to get it done; not to do it well, or for a purpose.

—- END REVIEW —-

PERSONAL CONNECTION

My grandma always told me, “Find your niche and stick to it.” As a kid, I understood “niche” as the thing I was good at, like talking to my sad friends and making them feel better. As an adult, I find again, that one of my talents is talking to sad (sick) people and helping them feel better. Through trials, failures, and tribulations, (and being strongly led by my current Partner), I have found that who I am is who I want to be. 

I used to deny all of the interesting parts of me. All of the things that make me interesting, I bury.

As a teen on myspace, I blogged in this personal fashion daily. Most of the time it was early mornings or late nights, when the energy was cleanest outside and no thoughts or sounds were invading my space. Then, I was convinced by family and friends that I was sharing too much. I was online too much. I was on cam too much. I had too many online friends. Go outside and play.

Yes, this is true. But if I would have stuck to being me, I would now have a 15 years of social media content under my name. Instead, I made and deleted many accounts over the years, emotionally. I never saw myself as a business, but I’ve been it the whole time.

I’ve been capable of creating any life I want, and never gave myself the full commitment to do so.

I would like to  inspire everyone to fail, fail, and fail again until they find out who and what they truly want to be in this world. No age is too old. Where does your heart feel most full? Try all of the sports. Listen to all of the music. Explore all of the ideas. Let fear go in the breeze, as a child would when they are discovering.

Stick to it, don’t give a shoot what other people think, and do YOU!