A Facebook friend posted this comment:
“Today I will stop giving so generously and freely
… I close my heart.”
I was sad.

Guard her heart?
Of course.
Do self-care?
Of course.
But close her heart?
No.
Please, no.

There will always be people who will do what they can (consciously / unconsciously)
… to take us down.
There will always be people who don’t like us
… not everyone will like us.
But, that’s not a reason to close our heart.

Maybe the reason some people don’t like us is because of our religion.
Maybe it’s because of our gender or sexual preference or language or skin colour or …
Maybe it’s our choice of partner/spouse.
Maybe it’s our personality, or our clothing, or our food choices, or our history, or …
Maybe it’s because of who we support politically.
It could be any number of things.

The bottom line is that not everyone will like us.
Sometimes, we are
… Just … Not … Liked.
No identifiable reason.

When I learned that stark reality,
I also learned that ‘others not liking me’ is not my problem.
It’s their problem.

In that discovery, came another learning.
As long as I do my best each day.
As long as I love and take care of myself, I can be myself
and in so doing, life can become more gentle, more fun, more enjoyable and more loving.

I never want to close my heart.
The consequences of such a decision are too tragic to consider.

What about you?
Have you ever thought of closing your heart?

Sadly, in today’s political and pandemic climate,
more and more are echoing the words “I close my heart”
and it seems that as hearts are closing,
minds are closing even more
bringing beyond-difficult consequences
for our world.

I hope you have not closed your heart,
but … if you have,
I hope that you realize that as long as you do your best each day,
as long as you love and take care of yourself, you can be yourself.
And in so doing, life can become more gentle,
more fun, more enjoyable and more loving.

May we follow the lead of our pet friends …
they never close their hearts.

May we never close our hearts.

© June Maffin
www.soulistry.com/blog
www.facebook.com/groups/soulistry

Comments are always welcome.  🙂

” Our Dogs Never Close Their Hearts”
© Hans van der Werff, Pastel Artist
www.soulistry.com/hans