Change A Life In A Heartbeat

(Photo Credit: Fyera! and The Institute of HeartMath)

I sat in on a class this week that discussed the amount of time it takes to beat stress in our lives. Turns out, as you probably already know, a single heartbeat. Literally though.

It takes just a single heartbeat to begin to bring us more into what is termed as a coherent heart rhythm. From this place of coherence we can make better decisions in our life that feel aligned to us because they come from the heart. And the signals of our own hearts recognize truth.

If, for any reason, you feel at a distance from your heart right now, try this:

Point to yourself. Go on, point to yourself as if you are referring to you
to someone else.
Where did you point? Chances are it was not to your earlobe, forehead or feet. It was probably to your heart. So, your body intuitively points to the heart when referring to itself. Interesting, eh? So, perhaps you are not as far away from your heart as you "thought".

This week I had a doozie of an experience in the drugstore that proved to me, once again, the power of the heart and its instinctive healing powers.

I was standing in line at the checkout behind a woman probably in her early 50's who pulled out a baggie of change to pay for her $8.18 worth of tissue, etc. I could tell she was feeling timid about the baggie, but I was completely fine and did not think a thing of it. She was a bit shaky while counting the change and fumbling the money, so I piped in by telling her gently that she could take her time and that I was in no hurry. The cashier then caught on and immediately began to help the woman count the change, and in fact, told the woman she would take care of the counting for her.

The woman turned to me and said, "I'm sorry. I just got laid off a month ago, and now I am using my spare change to pay for things". I remained very, very soft with my energy and told her again that it was OK and that I was in no hurry. She seemed a bit shocked that I was not being impatient with her.

Then I intuitively said to her, "See, this is a perfect example how we can all take care of each other. I am a patient customer in line and the cashier is counting your money for you. This is how we should take care of each other all the time".

The look on her face indicated that I had hit her with a stun gun, but in a good way if that makes sense.
I could tell from her double take of me right then that she was truly taken back and touched by the interaction.

Then she was gone. The transaction ended and she left the store feeling better, I imagine, than when she came in. We both saw the power of the human spirit in action.

What she doesn't realize is how she impacted me. I saw every ounce of the fragility and beauty of life in that moment and felt such compassion for her from my heart. And the best part is that it had nothing to do with me. It had everything to do with my choice to simply "be" in that coherent heart rhythm so that I could provide space for this woman to possibly feel better.

Can you imagine if I would have been frustrated in line? I can barely comprehend it because of how genuinely sweet and raw she was in that moment. It would not have served either one of us. And she probably would have thought my frustration had to do with her because she was already feeling somewhat down. And in reality, it would have had nothing to do with her, but perhaps the car on the street 5 minutes before that did not signal. What a mess in the making that was completely avoided by a simple choice: to be present.

May you have a lovely Holiday weekend.
Be kind to yourself...and others.

With love,
Sahara