Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve

Love. Hate. Joy. Sorrow. Pleasure. Fear. These are powerful emotions, dangerous even. We all experience emotions--it's how we were made. Some people are simply better at hiding their emotions or ignoring them all together. Then there are those people that cannot ignore their emotions. They feel  love and hate and joy and sorrow one hundred times stronger than everyone else. They cry at silly movies. They breakdown at the heartbreaking ASPCA commercials. And to add to their own emotions, their hearts go out to the people they care for, taking on a double load of love and hate. Wearing your heart on your sleeve can be a wonderful blessing. These are the humanitarian people that build Habitat houses, work with the disabled, volunteer at homeless and animal shelters. They make the world a better place by sacrificing themselves for the betterment of the community. But when those on the receiving end, those that see the heart on the sleeves, do you understand what these people are risking? A Sleeve-heart is like a rose left out uncovered in the frost. Without the proper care, it will eventually freeze. If you slice a dagger across the palm of your hand, the wound is exposed, bleeding, and painful. It will eventually heal, but you will always have a scar to remind you of that dagger. Hearts are just like skin. They will heal, but not in the same way. The scars will slowly begin to collect until the person is no longer who he or she used to be. That's why these hearts have to be protected. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I don't have a choice in the matter-I was born that way. I know my emotions can become overwhelmingly unbearable for those dear to me, and that's something that I have to learn to control. However, the people around people like us must realize the effect that their words and actions have on our exposed hearts. We're easily wounded and not easily healed. I speak from experience in the most literal way...a wound is temporary, but a scar lasts forever.

I typically do not write about myself or my personal beliefs on this blog, but I felt this was a subject I needed to comment on. Many writers can empathize because they too wear their hearts on their sleeves. I am now coming to terms with who I am in this respect and I am proud to wear my heart on my sleeve. I know I have to control myself, but I should not, and everyone else who can relate to this, should not be ashamed of their hearts. They are beautiful, like the rose. So keep the frost away.