Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Believe In Your Heart


I've always let my heart to make the final decisions for me. Because, while these decisions may not seemed to have much "sense" at the time, the head is not the center of me; my heart is. But the heart doesn't know to be logical or to be reasonable; without fail, it simply points towards more love-love without any guarantees. And while in the moment it seems folly to let the blind heart lead, it is  like a compass that doesn't need sight to find true north. Your heart is like a homing pigeon that flies straight to the unseen miracle. Heart decisions are scary decisions because they often defy reason. But as I look back over my life, the risk to love is the only redeeming thing; the richest choice I ever made. The heart is blind, true; but she saves the day every time.

I've noticed that my voice as a writer has gotten stronger with each passing year until now I'm not ashamed to shout my truth. Curiously, my real voice has softened over time as I realized that gentle and subtle are more attractive anyway. When I was younger, I was spoke from a place of knowledge alone. While knowledge educates, it can't pen a book that will move you to tears, it can't be the hand of compassion that reaches for another, it can't be...fully human; only your heart can do that. It is the countless, sleepless nights facing life alone that forged my story into gold. This was the real change agent; facing myself. It has gifted me with a stronger and more relatable voice. Courageous writing is heart writing, and you must face your own heart squarely to hear its secrets. If you want a strong message, if you want to reach more people then ever before, pull up your heart and holding it up high for others to see. It may be uncomfortable at times, it may even be painful, but your heart's voice is the only authentic voice you've got, and to ignore it is to unwittingly allow someone else to dictate your history. 

It's what you say to yourself when you're staring at the ceiling late at night that other people can relate to and are hoping you'll have the courage to say. This is because when one person steps out in a vulnerable way, it is a heroic action that reverberates like a gentle but mighty wave, melting the feigned strength and misunderstandings all around. As if by magic, other hearts begin unlocking, and the dull air becomes lighter and brighter. Everyone is chuckling through the tears now, mainly at themselves: at the door they kept shut so tightly. Standing on the other side of it, it's easy to see the door was more like a window meant to stay open. The fresh air reminds you that everyone is a beautiful mess inside. The thoughts that were haunting you, the unspoken mysteries inside-especially the longings that keep you awake at night are really weaving a song, and to not sing that song would be like stealing the songbird's voice.

Go inside, because most people only go on the outside. Go inward and find your own shaky, fumbling, uncertain voice because your center has something to say. It has a message. While you may have dropped it along the way, if your heart's still beating, there's still plenty of time. Believing your heart isn't really the hard part; the hard part is fighting it.  If your heart's tired of fighting, it's not because it wasn't meant to. The heart was designed for courage; the courage of a lion...just look what you've come through! Your heart's always fighting for something, isn't it? At the center of you is a fighter who keeps being resurrected. So if your heart's tired it's been fighting in the wrong direction. It's been arguing with the mind, answering to its ridiculous rules. Let the fighter in you fight for the only thing worth fighting for: love...sweet love.

Your mind will always have its opinions; it will go on proclaiming its rightness-that you can count on while only the heart knows the way. It knows the way out of doubt and confusion. It knows the way out of mistrust and cynicism. It knows the way out of stagnation and boredom. It knows the way out of the basement of your soul; it knows which way is up, and it knows where the light hides. Your heart is a compass, and when you train yourself to see without having to see, all that was unsolved in your heart will unravel before your disbelieving mind. Let it marvel! Let it call you kooky, or any other label it wants to give you because it doesn't understand. Let them all marvel-because believing in your heart only leads to one place: your freedom. All your heart wants is for you to be free; free of the tyrannical mind. Most of all, believe in your heart because it will always told you the truth.


Click here for all of Nina's books: http://www.amazon.com/Nina-Bingham/e/B008XEX2Z0