Unfiltered from the heart

in the midst of a challenging situation
i felt my heart remain open
even when i felt another person
was acting more than a bit manipulating
something which usually would damn near immediately
cause me to close my heart
placing it behind a thickened series of walls
to guard it against any perception of harm

yet later, anger surged after multiple unrelated
& significant missed communications
i was ready to break something
reminding me that
each moment offers an opportunity to
choose differently

breathing into the open heart spaces
breathing into the anger-filled places
a dissonance out of which is borne
a new level of compassion
the challenge – to keep listening even when
what i am hearing within isn’t something i’d like to hear
especially after time rolls on
& the anger keeps rolling in

rinsing & repeatedly repeating
staying with it all:
the thin & the thick of it
the rise & the fall
after more than a bit
a peace begins to settle in
yet it still feels a bit wicked to
ride this inner pendulum

{image: pexels}

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