The Perfect Heart
Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2004 2:17 pm
One day a young man was standing in the middle
of the town proclaiming that he had the most
beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd
gathered and they all admired his heart for it was
perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it.
Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful
heart they had ever seen. The young man was very
proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful
heart. Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front
of the crowd and said,
"Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine."
The crowd and the young man looked at the old
man's heart. It was beating strongly, but full of
scars, it had places where pieces had been
removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit
quite right and there were several jagged edges.
In fact, in some places there were deep gouges
where whole pieces were missing.
The people stared -- how can he say his heart is
more beautiful, they thought? The young man
looked at the old man's heart and saw its state
and laughed. "You must be joking," he
said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is
perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."
"Yes," said the old man, "yours is perfect looking
but I would never trade with you. You see, every
scar represents a person to whom I have given my
love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to
them, and often they give me a piece of their heart
which fits into the empty place in my heart, but
because the pieces aren't exact, I have some
rough edges, which I cherish, because they
remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I
have given pieces of my heart away, and the other
person hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me.
These are the empty gouges -- giving love is
taking a chance. Although these gouges are
painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I
have for these people too, and I hope someday
they may return and fill the space I have waiting.
So now do you see what true beauty is?"
The young man stood silently with tears running
down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man,
reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart,
and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old
man with trembling hands. The old man took his
offering, placed it in his heart and then took a
piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in
the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not
perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The
young man looked at his heart, not perfect
anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love
from the old man's heart flowed into his. They
embraced and walked away side by side.
"it is better to have loved and let go than to have
loved and held on to the wrong one all this time"
of the town proclaiming that he had the most
beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd
gathered and they all admired his heart for it was
perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it.
Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful
heart they had ever seen. The young man was very
proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful
heart. Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front
of the crowd and said,
"Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine."
The crowd and the young man looked at the old
man's heart. It was beating strongly, but full of
scars, it had places where pieces had been
removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit
quite right and there were several jagged edges.
In fact, in some places there were deep gouges
where whole pieces were missing.
The people stared -- how can he say his heart is
more beautiful, they thought? The young man
looked at the old man's heart and saw its state
and laughed. "You must be joking," he
said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is
perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."
"Yes," said the old man, "yours is perfect looking
but I would never trade with you. You see, every
scar represents a person to whom I have given my
love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to
them, and often they give me a piece of their heart
which fits into the empty place in my heart, but
because the pieces aren't exact, I have some
rough edges, which I cherish, because they
remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I
have given pieces of my heart away, and the other
person hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me.
These are the empty gouges -- giving love is
taking a chance. Although these gouges are
painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I
have for these people too, and I hope someday
they may return and fill the space I have waiting.
So now do you see what true beauty is?"
The young man stood silently with tears running
down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man,
reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart,
and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old
man with trembling hands. The old man took his
offering, placed it in his heart and then took a
piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in
the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not
perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The
young man looked at his heart, not perfect
anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love
from the old man's heart flowed into his. They
embraced and walked away side by side.
"it is better to have loved and let go than to have
loved and held on to the wrong one all this time"
