Did you see Oprah this week with Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban? One thing that struck me in the interview was when Oprah questioned Urban about his relationship with Kidman. He told of a conversation between the two of them where, for some reason even unknown to himself, he asked her, “How is your heart?”
To his question Kidman replied, “My heart is open.”
Wow. My heart is open. I don’t think I would have ever said that (up to this point in my life) if asked that question. I have read a lot of spirituality books. More than 25 books in the past couple of years, and to me this one statement is more profound than some entire books I have read.
I spent the next two days asking myself and repeating as a mantra, How is your heart? My heart is open.
Sometimes I heard it in the Australian accent in Urban and Kidman’s conversation, but on the second day it was just me. Me asking myself, How is your heart? My heart is open.
I really don’t know that my heart is open though. I want my heart to be open. I try to have an open heart. I desire an open heart. But, the closest I think I come to a real open heart is when one of my children looks at me and my heart “melts.” I think what is really happening is that my heart’s flood gate comes down and pure, true love spills into that moment in time, the now.
I suppose the key for being able to answer the question, “How is my heart? My heart is open,” is to keep the love flowing into all facets of life, into each present moment. To be open to experiencing what is in this exact moment and accept that moment as it is, no matter what “it” is – my children, my marriage, my hopes and dreams, my love of self and of God, my creative endeavors, my work, as a stay-at-home-mom and working to sell my book, Surviving Braces.
How do I get there? How do I create an open heart in every part and every moment of my life? At this point in my life, with small children commanding much of me, I have to say it is baby steps.
My song for today: I take care of myself. I get up a bit early in the morning to exercise or read, or just sit and have a cup of tea. I take a nap when I am given the opportunity. I go outdoors for a walk or to sit and read. I go out with friends when I can. I meditate. I write and draw and paint and use my soul as a creative expression of who I am, even when who I am feels lost most days to the life I am now leading. I see my children with the eyes of my soul rather than from the judging ego that wants to correct their every transgression against my adult rules.
Baby steps. I now create a to-do list. It’s heading at the top of the page is written in bright red ink that reads, “ME.” And, the number one thing I will do is:
Live life with an open heart.
Mom's Soul Cafe 
Beautiful! And of all the hearts I know, your is the most open and forgiving and loving.