Poetry for the Soul: “How to Open Your Heart” by Jeff Foster

Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

Do not try to open your heart now. That would be a subtle movement of aggression towards your immediate embodied experience. Never tell a closed heart it must be more open; it will shut more tightly to protect itself, feeling your resistance. A heart unfurls only when conditions are right; your demand for openness invites closure. This is the supreme intelligence of the heart.

Instead, bow to the heart in its current state. If it's closed, let it be closed; sanctify the closure. Make it safe; safe even to feel unsafe. Trust that when the heart is ready, and not a moment before, it will open, like a flower in the warmth of the sun. There is no rush for the heart.

Trust the opening and the closing too; the expansion and the contraction; this is the heart's way of breathing; safe, unsafe, safe, unsafe; the beautiful fragility of being human; and all held in the most perfect love.

A brief musing by Anny: In this beautiful poem by Jeff Foster, there's a profound invitation to embrace our inner world with compassion and understanding, acknowledging the intricate dance of our heart's emotions and the various parts of ourselves that compose this internal landscape. It beckons us not to force openness upon our hearts but to honor and respect its current state, whether open or closed. It underscores the importance of creating a safe and accepting space for our emotions, allowing them to unfold in their own time. The imagery of a flower opening in the sun's warmth beautifully symbolizes the heart's natural and organic process unfurling when it feels safe and ready. It's a reminder to trust in the innate intelligence of our hearts, embracing both the moments of expansion and contraction, for within this ebb and flow lies the essence of our human experience—fragile and beautiful, held tenderly in the embrace of love.