Growing a Bigger Heart

Let’s first unpack this metaphor to suggest some dynamics to growing bigger hearts. One, contrast the containers for water: bowl versus river. Both hold water but the bowl is smaller than the river. Its boundaries limit the amount of water it can hold. And therefore, salt affects the taste more easily in the bowl than in the river. It often seems true that the smaller, more narrow a person’s view and experience of life, the more critical and judgmental that person is, making it quite difficult to embrace change, diversity or difference.

Two, contrast the movement of the water in the two containers. In a bowl, the water is still. In a river, the water is moving. The result is that “salt” is less invasive, less harmful in the river than in the bowl.

When we see life as a journey, a movement, a developmental process, we have more patience with difficulties and difficult people. We are able to cut some slack for ourselves and for others, recognizing that no one is a finished product. We are all still growing and maturing. We are people “under construction.”

Three, moving water in a river can expand the river boundaries because that water has an ever flowing source that keeps the river continually filled and running. Water in a bowl is finite and cannot move the boundaries of the container.

Several principles are implied with this third point from the bowl vs. river metaphor. If we want to grow bigger hearts we must recognize and acknowledge the Source of compassion and peace. The divine source of life flows constantly. God’s presence is everywhere. Our task is to be willing to “step” into that flow and join the current of life. The more we submerge ourselves in God’s presence, the more we expose ourselves to this divine life, the greater our capacity to live the divine life.

For a river to flow full and free, all impediments and potential obstacles must be removed. The reality is that in life there are various obstructions that minimize the impact of God’s presence in our hearts and minds. Just like a human artery gets clogged with plaque which lessens the flow of life-giving blood to the heart and other significant organs, producing a condition called arteriosclerosis or “hardening of the arteries.” The effect can sometimes lead to heart attacks and other severe, potentially life-damaging conditions.

Even so the human heart and mind get plugged or blocked, disrupting the full and free flow of the divine power and life-giving presence into our lives. Egotism and self-centeredness, narcissism, ignorance and delusion, unresolved guilt, paralyzing fear, addictions, distractions; all these tend to minimize the true compassion and inner peace that come from the flow of God’s Spirit.

So what needs to happen? How does one remove these impediments? Are there specific steps and strategies that effectively unblock our hearts and minds so we can experience God’s Life in fullness and wholeness, so we can live with a deep centeredness that remains in a state of peace and contentment regardless of external circumstances?