By Brittany Davis
We take our hearts for granted. They pump our blood and with each beat they remind us we’re alive. These beats have the ability to speed up and slow down, but this ability is something that isn’t solely under our control. Other people can determine how the thing that helps prove we’re alive operates. But somehow nobody sees anything wrong with that. That should be the indicator right there. When love ends, and hearts break, it’s all because we took our heart, the thing that helps keep us alive, and entrusted it to another. Yet we still get surprised how sometimes we barely feel alive when we get it back. We give it out whole and filled to the brim with hope, and can get it back shattered, our hope and faith in love sometimes included.
When you give someone your heart, or wear it on your sleeve you’re leaving yourself unprotected. Falling in love should be the goal of any person’s life, but don’t be blinded by it. It has the ability to be this life altering and fulfilling thing, but it also has the ability to make you feel destroyed. The trick is realizing the trade off. Part of what makes it all so magical is the unknown. This includes that you could be falling for someone who has no genuine interest of catching you. Our hearts only have the ability to feel, they can’t weigh the options for us. We all know the risks and rewards when we start to fall, but when we don’t get the fairy tale ending, we sit there surprised and shocked. But it’s not like we go into these things blindfolded, right? The problem is that all the possible outcomes aren’t weighed in our minds before we allow our hearts to speak for themselves. Anytime you fall you get left with some memory of it. Whether the evidence is in physical scars or emotional baggage, the fear it instills in us doesn’t easily go away. So why try again?
Because that’s all a part of finding love. It’s all about taking that chance. It’s about having hope and belief in spite of the past. The truth is, hope and belief in love can grow back if you give it the chance. Remember, wounds can’t heal if they are constantly exposed. Trusting another with your heart is a brave thing to do, but the difficulty in doing it is so easily overlooked. The irony of it all is that we keep our hearts protected so we can live, but it’s usually when we’re vulnerable that we feel most alive. Don’t let fear stop you from allowing yourself to feel. Remember that with each beat we are given another chance to open up and embrace the beautiful things life puts in front of us. Don’t be afraid to take a chance. Remember that jumping into the unknown can be terrifying, but the things we’re scared of are usually the most worthwhile. Life is short. Nothing is guaranteed. So at the end of the day we tend to put our whole hearts into everything. Continue to do that. Sure, the heartache that can accompany any lost love is unbearable, but gaining your heart’s desire, is more than you can ever hope to achieve. If it turns out they love you back it’s beautiful. If it turns out it brings you pain, in time it heals. At the end of the day just give your heart what it deserves, because it’s true it’s there to keep you alive, but there’s no point if you don’t allow yourself to live like you are.
