This beautiful Spring, 2019, all around Northwest Arkansas, I see hearts. Everywhere.
Truly, they are everywhere.
They simply appear in front of me, in nature, at work, at home and often out of common everyday things. Lately these hearts have been appearing with increasing frequency.
So I’ve started to pay attention to what the Universe is saying and stop for a moment to appreciate the experience. I decided to take pictures and create this blog post so I could present these findings and hopefully encourage someone reading this to pay attention more, for there are messages everywhere in life if we pay attention to them.
All the hearts you see below have appeared before me in some way. None of these were upside down, sideways or wonky; they all appeared upright to me, the way a heart would appear to anyone in the traditional sense we know it to be today.
I think we can all agree that an upside down heart, a sideways heart or even a wonky one would have completely different meaning and upon first view of a heart in any shape other than the traditional shape, we may not even see the image as being one of a heart at all.
Please enjoy.
Hearts in bloom happened first one beautiful weekend morning at breakfast . . .
In essence, for a sign from the Universe to mean something:
Your mindset must be at a place on your path to receive it
It should be something that you notice and that you identify with
It has significance to you.
Someone else could see all these heart shapes in ordinary things and think nothing of it, but it means something to the person observing it at the time they're observing it and taking into account their footing and current place in this life journey.
So, when things like this happen, what the heck does it mean?
I'd like to think that because I write a blog and pursue learning in a hyper-vigilant way, and I'm sassy-smart (if I do say so), that I would have the answer to this question, but I really do not. This blog post is primarily intended to tell the story of my experience in the hope of making you ponder the symbols and messages that you receive (whatever they may be) and attempt to pay attention a little bit more to them and what they may symbolize.
When I see a heart shape before me in something unexpected, I simply ask myself, is it significant to me, and how so ... and move forward with my footing in life from there. Usually pretty simple.
But, in the spirit of hyper-vigilant learning, I decided to venture deeper to see how I might be able to make sense of nature's magical messaging to me.
The heart is the locus of physical and spiritual being, and represents the central wisdom of feeling as opposed to the head-wisdom of reason.
It is compassion and understanding, life-giving and complex. It is a symbol for love. Often known as the seat of emotions, the heart is synonymous with affection. In Ancient Egypt, it represented life-essence, as the mummified had their heart preserved as it was the first part of a human being to live, last to die.
Hearts also carry senses of intellect and understanding, as well as connotations of the soul, along with will and courage. The heart is the central point (with the brain and sexual organs being the endpoints) of the vertical scheme of the human.
As many of us residents know, here in Eureka Springs, AR, Spring 2019 has brought much rain to Northwest Arkansas and one can't help but notice that the surroundings here are wonderfully lush, green, vibrant, and completely rich in color.
I find myself looking forward often, and usually slightly "head-up" to the clouds, the blue sky, the stars. So why does the Universe insist on placing the creation of something beautiful before me at my feet on the dark, worn-out asphalt disguised as a puddle after the Spring rains subside?
An emblem of truth in my path.
Aside from truth, the heart has long been recognized across many cultures as being a symbol of love, charity, joy and compassion. Like "The Golden Rule" (We treat others the way we want to be treated) the symbol of a heart is universal, international, eternal and it has been around for centuries.
Magicians and Alchemists used heart symbols for incantations pertaining to matters related to love and romance. The symbol was also used in rituals with a goal to strengthen relationships.
In the 14th Century, when the very first autopsies were performed, Leonardo DaVinci, another hyper-vigilant learner was one of the first to dissect the human body for the purpose of discovery, knowledge and healing. He was a genius, and also an artist. Leonardo pursued things by paying attention. Perhaps it was Leonardo that first sketched a simplified version of the common heart icon that we see today. ❤️
The irony is that in our teachings of Leonardo, we know that he poured his heart into his work. His art. His learning. His accomplishments. He led his life with his heart. Is Leonardo's hidden legacy to the world that he left us this?
Let's take my recent rubber band moment and consider it in this mindset of paying attention. You know the story, a rubber band falls from the countertop to the floor and just when I stoop down to pick it up, before me I see a heart-shaped rubber band.
Most people think - a rubber band on the countertop falls, you simply turn, stoop and look to find it, and you just pick it up. It's a fluke.
A fluke? An accidentally successful stroke of luck?
Yes. Some would agree.
I think it's all happening around us the way that it's supposed to be happening around us. I think that luck is overrated and a fluke is a flat fish.
I recall a time in my life when I was a single gent and I had yet to discover the art of paying attention. When I used to see a rubber band form into the shape of a heart, I thought, "hmmm, maybe the Universe wants me to know that I am going to meet my soulmate soon." When that didn’t happen soon enough, I thought "well, maybe it just means the Universe wants to remind me that I am loved."
So, what the heck does bird shit on the pavement in the shape of a heart mean then? My soulmate is likely going to shit all over my heart?
Nah. I have since learned that this way of thinking is unproductive and it just thinking at something and not with something. (Note: I also read my horoscope often in The National Inquirer back then.)
If we take each moment and think at it we are likely projecting more upon it than the message is intended and we might miss the true meaning of the message by overshadowing it with our own projections. But if we take each moment and think with it, we likely receive the message intended clearly for us upon first coming upon it.
This is also known as co-creation or paying attention.
For example, someone "paying attention" might think - something (a rubber band) exists one way, and it's over here. It simply makes a decision to move onto a different path and change how it wants to exist over there.
A lesson (disguised) right on your path. Are you paying attention?
So what do you so see? Triangles, diamonds, ladybugs, numbers, smiley faces, knots, feathers, butterflies, or something else significant and frequent.
Challenge yourself to pay attention more and think with it. Doing so will help you to understand the symbolism and hopefully the lesson appearing before you.
My lesson in all of this: our Earth is full of heart.
Consider the letters in each: without h-e-a-r-t, there is no E-a-r-t-h.
We are all just a decision away from change.
If we all pay attention to what's happening on our journey and what is appearing before us and lead ourselves forward with our hearts, Earth would be a glorious place for all humanity and ... once again ... love wins.
So, in each of these symbols that appeared on my path, and continue to, I make the choice to think with them and together we agree - Love wins. Love always wins. As I move on my path from this symbolic point (this puddle, this egg, this rubber band) I lead myself forward with love.
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