handful of hearts.

At a deli in LA, I was given free plastic rings in the shape of hearts by a friend of mine-He placed them in my right hand and as I looked down at them, I noticed I had a handful of hearts. And as a writer or a thinker or whatever it is that I am I found my mind wandering on that phrase: a handful of hearts. It sounds like a song or an idea. Perhaps we each have a handful of hearts. Some of us give them away and some are too frightened too. We keep them tight in our fist, white-knuckled and untouchable because if we give even one away we might not get it back. I sit here and stare at my open hand. I hold it close to me right below my heart and keep it open wide, my fingers are stretched and my eyes are drawn to it. Have you ever noticed how welcoming and warm an open hand can be? Just a simple reaching out. Instead of standing there with your arms crossed and your hands clenched…unwrap them. Unwrap them and touch someone because human touch is underrated; unwrap them and cup them around the face of someone you love; unwrap them and use them to serve and to just love on people. If you open them up and let your handful of hearts be visible, do not fear. Sure someone might take a heart away from you, but I promise another will put it back. Walk around with your handful of hearts open wide. Do not give them away to just anyone, but be sure to give them away to at least someone. Do not keep them to yourself. Surely if you do, you will die with all your hearts still intact, safely in your hand. But they will be just that. They will have never learned the strength to love and the courage to be loved; they will have never learned the heartbreak and healing; they will have never had the opportunity to touch the life of another. So let your handful of hearts dance and pulse themselves through this life; let them go. You may find that when you leave this earth, some of your hearts will be worn down, some may be a tiny bit broken, and some may still be unbelievably beautiful; but regardless of their outward appearance it will be obvious that they have lived. They have been truly alive and that is more important than a handful of perfect hearts who never really knew life at all.