Once, a bird flew in through an open door of my house and darted frantically around the living room and kitchen. Eventually, it calmed and hid behind a decorative pot on a high shelf. I quietly climbed up up on a step-stool, reached behind the pot and somehow managed to enclose the bird in my hand without it getting away. I could feel its small form fluttering and struggling inside my hand, and I was careful to keep my fingers loosely closed around it so that I didn’t squeeze too tightly while I carried it outside to release it.
Loving someone is a bit like holding a small bird. Care is required in the handling of the bond between hearts. Love’s paradox is that it’s both an incredibly powerful thing, and delicate in nature. Betrayal or neglect are not the only ways that love dies. It can also be smothered or crushed. By clutching out of fear or possessiveness, we may kill it. Negative experiences in past relationships may make us fearful of losing this wonderful love we have discovered, and so our instinct is to grasp tightly. Ironically, this choke hold on a heart can stifle the other person and lead to the very loss of love which we are afraid of.
Embrace your lover’s heart in openness and trust. Hold love softly, and grow confident in the connection you share with them. Give it room to breathe, flutter its wings, and soar freely from your open hands. We cannot force love, but we can nurture it. With that nurture, our love will grow stronger and fly to new heights. Fear constricts our hearts, but trust expands them. Choose to trust love.
