A Valentine’s gift: go with all your heart

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart,” said Confucius some 2,500 years ago, and his wisdom still holds true.

But how often do we pay attention to it? How often do we deal with our lives, our loves, our work, our friendships, our families, with everyone our heart?

This Valentine’s Day, what if you approached your whole life with all your heart? What if, even better, you didn’t reserve the precious gift of all your heart for your partner, but gave it freely, voluntarily, to every aspect of your life?

I look at my dogs, my beloved animal companions, and whether they’re eating, sleeping, chasing a leaf, riding in the car, or snuggling up next to me, they put their whole hearts into it. They are 100% committed, excited, eager for whatever it is. How our life would change if we followed his example, his instinctive joy.

I know that there are times when I feel like I am listening, really listening, to a friend not only with my ears, but with my whole being, and somehow the interaction becomes charged with meaning, a depth that it did not have before. There are times when I lose myself in my work, in the most positive sense of the word, when the connection between myself and work is so strong, so powerful, that I am surprised at what I have achieved. It’s not like I’ve suddenly become a brilliant superstar. Oh no, I’m still the same as always, warts and all, but for a moment, when I put my whole heart into that project, that work, magic happens.

When you put your whole heart into something, you let go of all doubts, all fears. More than that, you forget them momentarily, because you are so engaged, so present with the experience that there is no room to question yourself, to doubt yourself. You’re too busy focusing with laser intensity on whoever or whatever is in front of you. In those “all your heart” moments, you are confident without thinking, you are brave without wondering if you could be brave, you are the best of who you are naturally, without effort, without tension.

I say “moments” deliberately, because putting your whole heart into something or an interaction with someone requires intense focus. It takes being present with every fiber of your being, which, frankly, isn’t the easiest thing to maintain. How dogs do it all the time, I have no idea. But what I do know is that one moment added to another moment and another results in a length of time that can be increased with practice. As with anything else you want to get good at, commitment, practice, and persistence are key.

Unless of course you are a dog. So, oh lucky, you were born with it.