Tonight I was watching one of this season’s new shows on tv, OnceUpon A Time. It’s the one that takes place in Storybrook Maine and all the fairytale characters are trapped in today’s time and don’t remember who they are. In tonight’s episode Snow White said something to Emma, who is her daughter, (but of course neither one knows this). She said:
“I know your walls keep pain from getting in, but could it be they also prevent love from getting in?”
A thought worth pondering. Is it worth the risk in order to experience love in it’s entirety? Is anything worth having acquired through hard work that may result in pain, despite all your effort? Or is it better to just sit on the sideline and not take the risk of getting in the game? Is sitting on the sideline missing experiencing the essence of life? Is love the essence of life?
This could go on and on. That’s why I never stopped to consider it in the first place. If I loved someone, I just went for it, no holds barred, never even considering that I might get hurt. Not a good MO for a person who doesn’t handle rejection well. When the hurt came, I was always taken by surprise. Yet, even in the face of the longest and hardest hurt of my life, taking the risk is still worth it to me. My glass is always half full. There’s always hope in even the darkest times. Life is all about feeling – both the good and the bad. The good shows us how to live in peace. The bad shows us how to grow and change and prepare for the next good time. Walls not only prevent both pain and love from reaching us, but they also prevent growth. Living behind walls so thick chokes off our emotional oxygen. Our inner growth is stunted. We never move forward emotionally. Relationships become distorted and permanent relationships are next to impossible to maintain. I always say, in the face of pain, difficulty, and confusion:
Keep your head up, your mind clear, and your heart open.
Don’t ever sacrifice love just to stay safe from pain. To do so causes unseen damage and wasted years. A heart broken and repaired is like a beautiful quilt pieced together with strong, tiny stitches, bearing the story of a full, rich life. A heart pitted by the hailstones (and occasional meteors) hurled by life, has character and possesses hidden knowledge in each crater. An open heart allows itself to lie on the sand, vulnerable to the tide’s harsh movement, but still able to warm under the heat of the sun. Don’t miss this.
And so, as another day goes by, walls are great for hanging pictures, but not for hiding hearts, and ….I have written.
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