"Living Heart Healthy"

Heart.
A very important word.
Our heart gives us life.

A healthy heart lets us thrive.
Through it flows our life's blood,
giving energy and movement
to our physical being.
It allows us to arise and greet each morning, and surrender to sleep each night.
Our heart is our vitality.
And thus we must take care of it... nurture it... treasure it.
We must live 'heart healthy'.

We need to make wise choices as we go about this business of living. Proper nutrition, moderate exercise, a good night's rest... all essential in keeping out ticker in tip-top shape. Not always as easily done, as said. But we should keep these goals in mind, and try our best to be good to our heart. Trust me, it will be forever thankful and treat us with kindness in return.

There's another side to being 'heart healthy', at least I think there is.
It's a joy thing. A happiness thing. An 'open the windows and let the sun shine in' thing.
In today's world of stress and anxiety, of deadlines and due dates, of being here and getting there... we often don't find that 'happy happy, joy joy'.  Maybe we are too busy, maybe we are afraid, maybe we don't think we deserve it, or maybe we don't know how to find it.
My thoughts on that?

We are never too busy to experience the bliss of a joyful moment... listening to your favorite song on the radio or a phonecall from home, sharing a laugh with a friend or getting a hug from a child, seeing a rainbow after the storm or being the recipient of a smile from a stranger. Let the joy overtake you, even if it's just for a moment. Then repeat, and repeat again.
Don't ever be afraid to be happy, or think you don't deserve to be happy. We will all experience sadness or hardship in our life. Many of us already have. And these difficult
times can be long and seemingly endless. It may feel wrong to be happy. You may fear any happiness will just be taken away. Not so. Each of us deserves to be happy. We were made to be living, breathing, joyful beings. And true happiness can never be taken from us, for it is a feeling we hold deep within us, it is ours to own, ours to keep, ours to treasure.

Joy can be found in the smallest of places, to the largest of lifes venues. We just need to open our eyes, our minds, our hearts. If you find yourself tapping along to a catchy tune... you are enjoying the moment. If you 'Mmmmm' after a bite of a tasty morsel, you have enjoyed a blissful culinary moment. If you hold a newborn child in your arms, you are a part of one of life's happiest moments. If you look back on a memory and smile, you will have experienced a happy, reflective moment. If you live your life in a charitable way, you'll know the joy of giving moments. When you place your hand into that of a loved one, and sense that special connection, you will feel a complete joyous moment of belonging. These 'moments' are happening  in abundance. We just have to capture them.

So, take care of your 'physical' heart. You know what that means.
But take care of your 'emotional' heart too. Let the sun shine in.
When we look, when we see, and when we do... joy is all around.
And it is more than okay to gracefully receive.





Keep on keeping on... bArB :)