Steve Slimm - Heart of the Land

What a heart we have – we beings on this tiny planet who call ourselves human – such a small world amongst the trillions of planets, stars and galaxies – but what a large heart! And Christmas certainly seems a time for expanding that large-heartedness in all sorts of ways; and through some strange process of artificiality – making it more real.

No wonder we stress and strain toward the day – considering what’s at stake. I believe we have very little idea of what’s really at stake; all we know is what we expect from the experience – and more importantly from ourselves. And of course much of this expectation gets projected into what we expect of other people. But when we manage to touch base, we all instinctively know the truth – it’s only about ourselves really.

So we ask ourselves: how will my heart match up to this mysterious call for extraordinary largeness, for unconditional giving, and for strength? How will I fare in this amazing time of goodwill – little old me who feels so small and helpless in all of this huge machinery that somehow manages to drive us all to act in ways we would not ordinarily behave?

Yes, the very nature of Christmas demands of each of us something extra-ordinary – something many of us feel we haven’t got, even after prolonged inner search. And yet somehow the extraordinary is demanded of us – so what can we do - for Christ’s sake?

Maybe in this paradox lies the true magic of Christmas . For it’s only in the struggle and strain through and beyond the ordinary that greatness is eventually realised – not by any planned and contrived state of ‘how we decide it’s going to be’ – but rather, through simply letting go to the wonder of the heart, which is the magic of Christmas . And what is ‘greatness’ in respect to the depths of the heart? Greatness in such context is nothing more than the experience of the extraordinary in the midst of the ordinary – a true heart of love in the centre of the everyday moment by moment comings and goings of thoughts, feelings, and emotions that we believe to be less than love.

I say what we believe to be less than love – but are these thoughts and feelings really less than love? Are we actually failing Love when, for example we don’t fully appreciate our gifts, when we don’t quite consider others as much as we think they need to be considered, when we can’t quite give as much as we’d like to give; when we don’t quite love as much as we’d like to love?

Maybe the truth we don’t yet understand is: that Love itself has no such concept of ideals and standards. The simple truth is: Love demands nothing of us whatsoever. Love is happy with who we are – exactly as we are, with all our mistakes, faults, misgivings and our own perceived lack of love. No, love cannot be pinned to any high ideal, as the thing about Love is this:

Love Is – purely and simply – Love just Is.

 
And if Love were to ask anything at all of us it would be just that – to Be like Love itself – simply to just Be who You Are. No – Love does not judge anything of who we are or who we aren’t – it’s only we ourselves who do so.

And so, amongst all the trappings of superficiality and artificiality of Christmas, we somehow manage to process ourselves incrementally, one annual step at a time, toward the fullness of a heart of love – a love that expects nothing, either of self or of others – and therefore has plenty to give.

But even in this there lies a paradox, as it seems that ‘here we go again setting ourselves a standard!’ But no – this is not something we could ever achieve, (as if there is some merit in such achievement, as if there were low and high standards of achievement) – No! But rather this fullness of a loving heart is just the simple magic of Christmas (birth of  Christ consciousness) – and the maybe the result of allowing ourselves to feel so incredibly fragile – and still be okay with it.

So – here’s wishing You a Just-be-Happy-with-Yourself kind of New Year!

Steve

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Heart pictures, pictures of heart-shaped objects, and heart-shaped objects themselves abound today in a profusion never before experienced on the planet. Girls especially seem to revel in them for some reason, and I can’t help wondering why.

An Internet search for ‘heart pictures’ brings up all sorts of biological pictures and medical diagrams of the human heart and its various functions. But along with these pictures also come the often whimsical, all-too-familiar heart-shaped symbols in a multiplicity of colours and settings.

Why this fascination with the heart-shape? Why not an equal interest in pictures of the kidney for example? Surely the kidney is just as interesting and as aesthetically pleasing a shape as the heart? Who knows, maybe one day the kidney might take the ascendant, but right now we are dealing with whatever we are dealing with, and that presumably must be far better suited to pictures of the heart than the kidney!

So here are a few of my thoughts concerning heart-shaped pictures etc. Firstly, and most obviously, the heart symbolises love. So anyone who has a fascination with heart-shaped pictures and objects will probably have a strong leaning towards romance, and more than likely be looking to expand love in their life generally. The colours of the pictures and objects are often pretty pinks or lavenders, and the setting can often involve fairies or furry animals. It’s all very sweet and girly, but somewhere underneath the surface lies some intrinsic psychological need for such symbols – and it’s this aspect I’d like to explore a little further.

The second thing I can’t help noticing about what has become standardised as the popular shape of the heart, is that it is made up of two equal sides that mirror each other perfectly. In this the popular heart pictures differ from their biological and medical counterparts, which are in fact far from symmetrical. So I wonder – why has the shape of the heart transmuted itself into such perfect symmetry – at least in our imagination?

I feel close to answering this question when I consider that the main function of the symbol is to represent a romantic relationship – invariably between a boy and a girl (whatever their ages!) And then I ask further – why has the heart image taken on such special importance in the lives of girls the world over – as opposed to boys?  The totem symbols of boys are generally far removed from such a loving, nurturing symmetrical sense of wholeness as the heart-shape. The answer I believe lies in what became known in the 90s as Girl Power.

Let’s face it – girls have not been treated as equal to boys for as long as we can remember – and hundreds of times longer! If you doubt this comment, just remember they were once traded for camels – for God’s sake! Even as late as the 1960s in Britain girls were being sent away from home for the disgrace of bearing a child out of wedlock, with the baby often being taken away from the mother and fostered. This far-from-equal treatment of the female, having such far-reaching consequences into the lives of both mother and child, was in sharp contrast to how the boy was viewed. No thought was ever given to the boys’ responsibility in these matters – he was just acting as boys do – sowing his wild oats in the normal acceptable manner! It was, of course the girl who was at fault entirely – we all know that don’t we sweetie? Obviously she must have led him on – and after all she could have said ‘no’ and told him to stop it! etc. Girl Power came not a moment too soon – the Spice Girls and other girl bands rousting up all those downtrodden little sweethearts into claw-bearing self-defending harpies . . . but I jest. . . .

Seriously – Girl Power is, I believe, at the heart of the heart shape in its modern context. Not that the girl wants to take control of her man – oh no, not unless he is trying to control her, of course! But she does insist on being equal to him – and so she is! And she does insist on his acknowledging this as fact, and living by this newly discovered truth. Thus the beautiful equal sides of a love-heart speak of her intention toward insisting on an equal relationship with her man – one in which the one side mirrors the other perfectly. Neither side is taller or shorter, (as compared to pictures of the literal heart), the shape made with the two equal sides being so exquisite – with its single root pointing toward the earth; and the dual curving sides both fattening out individually upward before plunging down again towards each other, where they are finally joined in the upper valley between the two halves. Two souls – each individually equal – yet rooted together in a harmonious singularity. The divine mystery of identity in relationship.

What more fitting symbol of a perfectly equal relationship could we ask for than this? If we want an equal beautiful romantic relationship, we need look no farther than the symbol of the heart! And yes – thank you girls for giving us symbolic heart pictures in abundance – in a world that is finally addressing its long-standing need true quality of the sexes!

So guys — if you want to please her – give her a heart-shape of some kind this Christmas  to show that you value her, understand her, respect her equality – and of course because girls just love heart pictures!

 Take Care of each other’s Heart,

Steve