Tuesday, February 8, 2011

being vulnerable

“to love at all is to be vulnerable. 
love anything, and your heart will certainly 
be wrung and possibly broken.
if you want to make sure of keeping it intact, 
you must give your heart to no one, 
not even to an animal. 
wrap it carefully round with hobbies 
and little luxuries; 
avoid all entanglements; 
lock it up safe in the casket 
or coffin of your selfishness. 
but in that casket- 
safe, dark, motionless, airless--
it will change. 
it will not be broken; 
it will become unbreakable, 
impenetrable, 
irredeemable.”
-c. s. lewis

i have been thinking on this passage from one of c. s. lewis' books while stitching on my boro heart. i can think of no better truth than this when it comes to loving. to living.  at times, i have done this, and know from whence he speaks. that casket is warm. soft. protected. but is also stifling. fosters death. one should not be found in a casket until after one has left this mortal world behind.


this boro heart reflects my own heart quite nicely. true, there are a lot of breaks and cracks. some still to be mended and re-attached. but still growing. loving. living.  beneath this shattered heart is another. whole. unbroken heart.


still vulnerable. eternally vulnerable. ready to be placed in the hands of one who would cherish and nurture it. it is only wrapped in the tattered and embroidered robes of the heart broken by others.


this heart has much farther to go before it will become the jewel it is destined to be. but for now, it will rest and infuse my home with its warmth and life. whispering quietly to my soul. filling the soft and reticent nights with its soothing tones. i would believe anything you tell me, so long as it is whispered...

namaste'


22 comments:

  1. (salo) nice words to accompany the heart and showing the underneath which wasn't shown in cbw adds to it all.

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  2. As beautiful as the cloth and stitch, they are so much more when accompanied by your voice. I adore the hidden whole heart which is rich and warm under its tattered robe.

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  3. thank you helen. cheryl. yes, it does mean more when you know the story behind it. i still have more to add...mostly stitching. i think.

    yes. jude. love does have many layers. not all are warm and fuzzy. but they all make it what it is.

    namaste'

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  4. sadly, morna, it's not one of mine, but is a steiff from germany.... ha!

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  5. I didn't think he was your creation .... but just that he was your friend/bear. :-) I'll have to post a picture with my Steiff ... so your Steiff can see.

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  6. Sometimes we have to experience the "dark" side of things i.e. pain and sadness to know what the other side i.e. joy feels like. A heart does have many layers but though it be broken for a season, time and love will mend it anew.
    beautiful heart and stitching.

    p.s. thank you for sharing your "vulnerable heart".

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  7. Your Boro Heat is so touching. One can feel the pain and the resolve at the same time. I see three hearts...perhaps your own heart has grown.
    I love this whole piece...I cannot express enough how much.
    The c.s.lewis quote is so appropriate...Which book did it come from?

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  8. eh, eh, eh, morna. he is that, for sure. i just pointed that out since i used to make bears and i didn't want there to be any confusion on anyone else's part. :)

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  9. it's true, marie. without one there cannot be the other. we would have no point of reference. all things in this world are reliant on other things to define them. thank you for your thoughts...

    namaste'

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  10. ha! leave it to you, mo'a, to recognize the stitched heart. the one that even i did not "see" until you pointed it out. and i am the one who put it there! ha!

    namaste'

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  11. hi joe, you are right about vulnerability. you might enjoy a talk that I watched a few weeks ago on TED. its called "the power of vulnerability" by Brene Brown. I liked it. being vulnerable is such a good thing.

    xt

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  12. that sounds intriguing... i would love to know more. what is ted?

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  13. of course, i was thinking (typing) out loud, before i engaged my brain and googled it. found it. going to soak it in now. thank you, t, for sharing this...

    namaste'

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  14. i like cs lewis and i like your heart, so beautifully stitched. lewis would get it.

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  15. I can't put into words how your post touched my heart. I love CS Lewis also. Is that quote from "A Grief Observed" ? I've identified with his writing since I was in college (a lonnnng time ago, and now I'm back again). Your layered heart is beautiful.

    ;~) Debi

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  16. I'm not sure what to write...The passage speaks volumes to me and the heart is beautiful. I've yet to be able to express my true feelings, especially those surrounding love, in my work. I'm sure it will come in time. I too watched the Brene Brown talk and was intrigued by what she said.

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  17. yes, debi, i think that was it. i'm not positive, however, since this is one of those passages that i copied into one of my personal journals long ago and only referenced lewis as being the author. i love lewis...

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  18. in time, mary helen. yes. time allows many things once seemingly impossible to become quite possible.

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  19. Hi joe..
    I have moseyed around you blog a bit and want to tell you that every post is wonderful and seems to touch my heart on many levels. Love...what we all want, yet seem to fear opening to. Humans...we are such complicated beings. If only we would really look into each others eyes..see the light shining there...that light that says we are all one, what a different world it would be.
    Thank you for stopping by my blog...it led me to yours...Beautiful work, beautiful words...enjoy the journey...
    namaste..

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