Summer Hearts and Toes!

I am apt to do some wistful musings when standing at the doorway of summer.   I peek into July and August and anticipate weeks filled with more sunshine, ice cream, spontaneous “get up and go” activities and time spent with the loves of my life; family, friends, body boarding and creative endeavors.  Yes, I eat up summer as a hearty helping of uninterrupted time, savoring each sunbeam and digesting each day of playfulness and relaxation.  

 “Summer is where the girls go barefoot and their hearts are just as free as their toes." 

Doesn’t that just get your toes wiggling?  As you reflect on your therapeutic work, isn’t one of the goals to set your heart free?  By working diligently to release bitterness, betrayal, shame and self-doubt you begin to fill your heart with peace, mindfulness, acceptance and clarity.   This requires a steadfast belief of being entitled to be loved, safe and well.  Having a a “free” heart is the opposite of a “heavy” heart.   And heavy hearts are usually burdened by guilt.

So often, my clients say that if they follow their “heart”, they feel “guilty.”  They cannot feel free to do what they are called to do, as it might hurt someone’s feelings, let someone down or create conflict.  A “free” heart isn’t ruled by what others will say or do, a “free” heart is just that, at liberty to follow its truth.  When your heart is encumbered by guilt or regret, it is not free…it is imprisoned.  To set your heart free is to continue to shed the heaviness of guilt and loss, and to actively embrace a “free” heart.

Set your heart free by enjoying the warmth, rest and restoration of these summer moments!