"God breaks the heart again and again and again until it stays open." Hazrat Inayat Khan
It has seemed to me in my life that God or Life does allow us to experience situations which break our hearts again and again. Everyone has difficulties. No one in this human condition is immune from difficulties, but we can manage how we respond to our difficulties. Some people become more closed up and bitter. Another option is to become more open and more resilient. If it is true that our hearts are broken again and again until they remain open, (and I think it is true) then it behooves us to keep our hearts open. And, what does that mean? It means continuing to love, and to hope, and to offer ourselves in service of the greater good. Many of the ways our hearts are open again and again occur in relationships. Relationships end, or the other person changes and does not want the relationship as it has been, or the people at the organization do not want us working there any more. It can also be a health challenge, as it was for Mark Nepo. He says his first fall from love opened his heart, then his cancer opened it further, followed by a marriage ending to open it more. Surely, being a caregiver for someone with dementia is a heart-opener. In what ways can you stay engaged in life? Hopeful? Receiving and giving love?
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