The Young Heart

Can you think back to your teenage heart and how many times it was broken? Crushes that were called that for the very reason of the heartache they caused. Now looking in the rearview mirror - how trivial and fleeting it all seemed. And yet it felt at times like life and death. So silly or trite- the initials carved into the old beech tree, the looseleaf notes in blue ink folded and passed during English class. The strong tidal push and pull of the heart. How much there was to learn about love without a road map or guide - just whatever river ran through us-whatever current pushed and pulled. Had we ever known how much our hearts could and would eventually endure we may have taken to love a bit more casually - but perhaps it was meant to be the testing ground, the sandbox for all the love and loss that was to come.

I can picture the middle school I.D. bracelets - possibly a precursor to the wedding band - some voucher of belonging – at ten or twelve – a small bit of thinking that somehow, we belonged together. And perhaps that symbol, or that ask, seemed more important than any feeling that may have been attached to it.

We had no football team so there was no quarterback to fuss over. There was the boy who arrived in middle school wearing a red bandana around his long blonde hair, there was the French exchange student who carried quite a bit of mystery, the artists, the musicians, the exceptionally bright or kind or funny -who knew what direction your heart might lead you? And then for some it could all boil down to who might have a car and a driver’s license.

I wonder what that young heart might have taught us or prepared us for. The hours waiting by the silent phone - tear-stained pillow cases- first kisses- hopefulness-disappointment? Did it get stifled and worn down by love or made stronger for the often challenging, uplifting or treacherous journey ahead? Did this quest for young love blur all other facets of life- the beauty of nature, the journey into self, the spirit, the goals and rapture or life itself? Or maybe it was all sold in a bundle. Had anyone ever told us that romantic love was just one of the many possibilities?

Love has a way of taking us hostage - often served as life’s main course, relinquishing the rest of existence to just a garnish or a side dish. But what I like to remember is that there are many things to love and many things to fall in love with – friends, family, pets, hobbies, nature, spirit - the beauty of the earth. If I should start again, that is what I would tell my young heart. Perhaps the world did not need one more sad love song-perhaps what the world needs is a reminder of all of the wonder we are surrounded by and are invited to love. Love, open and available to everyone- no matter where you are on the journey!