How do you think that would feel? Imagine. Imagine for a moment what it would feel like to live with your heart wide open? Today I’m going to open your heart to some new possibilities.
SHOW NOTES…
This may seem terrifying for you. Or it may seem incredibly freeing and awesome to think about.
Growing up on a farm in a very small town in rural Minnesota, we never locked our doors. We left the keys in our vehicles. We didn’t lock our homes. We trusted our neighbors, and those in our community.
Obviously times have changed, and even if we trust, it’s wise to lock our doors, right?
Recently I did a Facebook Live and asked my community what they thought the #1 key was for opening their heart. It started an awesome discussion. I heard things like love, gratitude, forgiveness, a big hug…etc.
Whatever it may be for YOU, imagine if you could live with your heart wide open.
One of my friends brought up the possibility of what it would look like if we no longer needed locks or doors. What would it take for us to no longer need to lock our doors (especially the door to our heart)? This has inspired such a great discussion, and a wonderful thought to ponder.
I would encourage you to begin thinking about this today.
What do you think? Terrifying or freeing?
What if you had such an incredible level of TRUST that you could live with your heart wide open?
What’s required for you to give someone the keys to your home? It’s trust, right?
You must trust that person. You know that they’re not going to come in, and take or steal from you. You know that they’ll knock on the door, and ask permission before entering.
It’s beautiful. Imagine if that was your heart!
I’ve been thinking about this at such a deep level, and what’s come up for me is asking what’s required for trust.
We don’t trust people unless we know them, right?
So KNOWING is a huge part of being able to live with your heart wide open.
What if you KNEW that no one could hurt you? And even if you got hurt, you still KNEW the value of living with your heart wide open. And you KNOW that it’s better to have lived and loved fully than to not live or love at all.
Second to knowing someone, is knowing and trusting IN SOMETHING. What is that?
We believe that what he or she is telling and showing us is the truth, right?
So being able to KNOW THE TRUTH is key.
What if you knew the truth about YOU? And you knew and believed that your heart was YOUR responsibility and no one else’s? Imagine if that was your truth?
You can share your heart with others, invite others in, and live with your heart wide open, but ultimately YOU’RE responsible for it. And you trust YOURSELF enough to know that it’s safe and secure.
Imagine what that would look and feel like?
I remember getting to a place in my life where I left my heart, and took residence in my head. I decided that I’d live and love from there because it didn’t hurt as much as my experience of living in my heart.
However, I soon realized that living in my head made me feel trapped. It didn’t feel fulfilling. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t me being authentically me.
So I wondered how I could live with my metaphorical home’s doors and windows wide open.
This was the vision I got in my heart, and have held until this day…
You can live with your heart wide open, but there’s a beautiful yard around your home. Around that is a gate. YOU get to decide who comes into your yard. The gate opens both ways. That way you get to live with your heart wide open. You get to choose who comes and goes through the gate.
You’re the gate keeper, and you’re a trustworthy gate keeper.
Do you trust YOU with your heart?
This way of thinking got me to the place of being able to live with my heart wide open, and it has been ever since.
It’s helped me become a trustworthy keeper of my heart.
There’s nothing greater than living with your heart wide open, because it means that YOU’RE wide open. You’re able to expand and grow. You’re able to receive ALL OF YOU, and all the love coming back at you.
It’s a revolving (evolving) opening within your heart that’s wide open, and it’s beautiful.
I made a decision that no matter what happened in my life, my heart could no longer be broken, because there is so much love in my heart that it holds my heart together.
Even losing both my parents in a tragic car accident, and my heart taking the biggest hit it’s ever taken – leaving my heart feeling like there was a big crack in it – my heart was NOT broken. It was OPEN, and remains that way.
Love holds my heart together.
An open heart feels painful sometimes, but I decided that the pain that my open heart feels is going to be relative to the amount of love it feels and experiences. I’m reminded of this every day as I think about, and miss, my parents. I remember that it’s because I LOVE them.
That LOVE is worth every bit of pain I’ve experienced in losing them.
I know this may be a sensitive topic and you may not agree with me. I encourage you to take a look at this topic from another perspective.
You can live with your heart wide open because you:
1. Trust.
2. Know.
3. Know Truth.
Imagine the endless, infinite possibilities.
Please take out your SACRED S.O.L. D.A.T.E. JOURNAL (Daily Action To Engage with yourself.)
TODAY’S SACRED S.O.L. STEP:
1. Write down what it would look like for you to live with your heart wide open. Write down exactly how you feel about it.
2. Ask yourself if you’re open to seeing it another way.
I appreciate you being here, and being brave + courageous enough to even consider living with your heart wide open.
xo Dr. Shannon. Inspiring minds that want to grow and hearts that want to know, so you can love you, your life, and your life’s work well. ONE SIP AT A TIME.
A special thanks to the following souls for helping me launch our WOMEN SIPPING ON LIFE podcast…
Intro/Outro done by Uni V. SOL
Outro music by Jay Man: Mind Over Matter (www.ourmusicbox.com)
Podcast cover design and web site done by: Pablo Aguilar (www.webdesigncreator.com)
Podcast cover photo by Kate Montague of KM Captured (www.kmcaptured.com)