Above All Else...Guard Your Heart

In Proverbs 4:23, it says:

Above all else, guard your heart,

for everything you do flows from it.

I remember when I first took attention to this verse when it was applied to relationships.  Rule #1 - Don't just give your heart out to anybody.  To first learn the person, having them gain your trust, then gradually opening your heart to them - knowing of course there are no guarantees that it won't be broken, but at least making all efforts to extend this vital vessel in seemingly safe waters.

The heart is our emotional command center.  But it's also our life command center.  When it's broken emotionally, the body can still function.  But when it's broken physically, life can cease.

In these last couple of years I have been in the hospital several times for overnight evaluation.  Either blood pressure was up or there were symptoms of a cardiac episode.  Every single time it was during a season that I was dealing with a stressful situation.  Not because of my personal pursuits or busy schedule, but from trying to come in and be BatGirl, Cat Woman, Wonder Woman, All Mighty Isis, and Foxy Brown in times of others' crisis.  

Since 2012, I began to step back from being what others have for so long expected me to be and perform.  By the end of 2014, I mastered being supportive without forgetting to keep myself supported.  I blogged on this past New Year's Eve about behaviors and feelings that would not accompany to 2015.

I have seen too many times where people have grieved, mourned, and overextended, while forgoing all sense of their healthy self for someone else.  With all of their unconditional gift of care, love, and support, they were gravely disappointed to only find that the other's drama, foolishness, and/or crisis continued without a lull.  

Compassion is one thing, but codependency is another.

So while watching to whom your heart is given, there is a safewatch to what your heart is given.  While the heart goes off on its own, it listens to the brain, too.  Whatever or however a situation is reflecting in the mind, the heart is internalizing that as well.

Heart disease is one of the many health conditions that can be caused by stress.  Stress can be physical, emotional, or mental.

A powerful option to alleviate stress is to have a solid spiritual base.  

God, give me grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

~ Attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr

Another option is to know that there are only 24 hours in a day and a third of that day must be used for sleep and rest.  

Eliminating rest and sleep is never an option.  

But the number one option is to be kind to yourself.  When you are kind to yourself, you are guarding your heart.

TND

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-causes-and-effects.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer