Resurrection of the Heart

Easter has just passed; a quiet day spent, not attending church services or large family gatherings, not dressing in our best finery or hunting for colored eggs, but in the shelter of our homes, with our closest family members. We hopefully had time to reflect on the resurrection story, to find some new meaning in this old familiar concept of rebirth.

Could it be that it's not just a story that we hear, a hope that we have in the promise of life after death, but something that we can experience in the here and now?  Are there areas of our lives and hearts that, when carefully examined in our moments of solitude, become a burden that we need to let go of?

It is in the letting go of old familiar patterns, habits that no longer serve us, thoughts that weigh us down, that we are able to come to a new awareness.

 If, in these moments of solitude that we have an abundance of right now, we are able to bring these things out of the shadows, into the light, rather than distracting ourselves with social media, the newest netflix series or our addictive substance of choice, we may be able

 to use this time to heal ourselves at the deepest level.

It can be uncomfortable to self-examine and too much of it can certainly lead to self-absorption, but if we want to grow as spiritual beings, it is an essential practice.  Opening up our hearts to Divine intervention can lead us to painful dark places, but the reward is in the resurrection moment, when we have shed the old and emerged from our cocoon as something new. 

My hope for all of us is that, through this strange, dark time of social distancing, we will experience a resurrection of the heart, shedding what is no longer feeding us spiritually and embracing a new awareness that will give us strength to find our way through what will certainly be a new world.