[Tension & Renewal - XXIII]
We innately hurt on behalf of the world. No one has to tell young children to be sad for the plight of those living on the streets or others that are malnourished.
But living with a broken heart is (almost) unbearable.
Our first impulse it seems it try to fix the cause of the suffering. All of it. This very second. But we can’t. And so we must turn away from the suffering, ignore it, or build our lives behind a figurative (and sometimes literal) wall so we don’t have to look at it.
Eventually we learn that we cannot protect ourselves from pain. Nor can we save anyone else from such pain. And so we numb. Sometimes it’s intentional and obvious, like an overuse of alcohol; and sometimes it’s subtle, like a full schedule and disconnecting from our feeling center.
A spiritual revival cuts through the numbing and crumbles the walls of our life that keep us from feeling the full weight of the world. This kind of revival comes with a revelation: “The heart cannot actually break, it can only break open.”
A genuine renewal of the heart often looks like a heart (re)breaking open for the world.
[h/t Welwood]
