ONE heart

Today, I read a post on facebook that really caught my eye.
We were given:
Two hands to hold.
Two legs to walk.
Two eyes to see.
Two ears to listen.
But why only one heart?
Because the other was given to someone else.
For us to find.

I don't know who said this, but this truly expresses the beauty of reaching beyond ourselves to others. Life really is not about us. We do occasionally, or even more than occasionally make it out to be the life revolves entirely around what is going on in our small world: our need for security, our comforts, our happiness, our accomplishments, our fears, our disappointments, etc. We can spend spend so much time camped out in self pre-occupation that we forget to step back and glimpse into the life of others.

We can also spend alot of time managing our time. We're pretty good at juggling a countless amount of activities and "must do" events. In the process, we can strip away any possibility of engaging the world around us by being too busy. At times, busyness looks to be an attractive invitation. After all, there are so many good things to do. But, a good friend of mine once told me. "Everything can appear good. But, there are things that are better, and then ultimately BEST. So, we must be careful to weigh what stands before us.....a more balanced life equals more opportunities to notice people and circumstances around us. Remember, good, better, best!

And then there's mind management...the ever present reality of needing to manage our thoughts. Every day we entertain good thoughts and "not so good" thoughts. Comparing ourselves to others, perfectionism, lack of self confidence, contemplating the "should haves" of life. In general, giving too much space to thoughts, attitudes and ideas that keep us unhealthy (fears, worries, etc) can and will cloud our minds entirely. You know how that feels - like your mind is in fog. Or maybe some days, your mind has been in a sheer tornado of discouragement! We can become so absorbed in our unhealthy thoughts that we can (and will) become completely ineffective in noticing or reaching out to others. The ones who pay the price are the ones we love the most, as well as the ones we wish we could have noticed.

And so, this goes back to the quote above. We were given ONE heart so that we can go beyond ourselves. How can we reach out with love, compassion, strength of character, mercy and grace, if we are stuck in our own "stuff". We owe it to ourselves, our families, our friends and the rest of the world to clear our minds, clear our schedules, spend time with God allowing Him to minister deeply to us in the ways that we need to make some changes. Then, and only then, as we examine our minds and our hearts, will we be able to make the BEST use of that ONE heart that He gave us.