OPINION: Dear Beloved — Heal Your Heart, Heal the Community
by Chardonnay Beaver
Dear Beloved,
In her book On the Run, author Charae Lewis wrote, "If you never heal from what hurts you, you'll bleed on people who didn't cut you."
At times, we inaccurately measure the smallest bruises to be the most insignificant. Bruised or broken, the heart is the center of our existence. While our biological heart is the central indicator of life and death, our metaphorical heart detects love and loss.
Whatever flows from our biological heart reveals the quality of our existence; whereas, whatever flows from our metaphorical heart reveals the quality of our character.
According to Sandeep Jauhar's book Heart: A History, the metaphorical heart exists across cultures, associated with emotions, to symbolize a material entity that possesses temperature (i.e., "cold hearted") and character (i.e., "kind hearted"). Thus, to be broken-hearted implies being stricken by grief and disappointment.
The first step to healing a broken heart is acknowledgment. Heartbreak, according to Healthline, is "a universal experience that comes with intense emotional anguish and distress."
Gun violence has left a mark on the hearts of our Beloved community. Parents experience great anguish without their sons and daughters. Children experience a lifetime without the presence of their fathers or mothers. Grandparents are now outliving their grandchildren. There is an urgency for solutions.
At the core of this crisis is every individual infected with the disease of violence. It's time we evaluate the source of grief in order to heal the wounded heart.
Beloved, I've discovered that nobody hurts others from a place of wholeness. If we don't address our pain, we'll continue behaviors that result in heartbreak.
Words of Wisdom by Char of the Week: Author S. Kelley Harell wrote "we don't heal in isolation, but in community." Let's begin to heal together. Proverbs 4:23
The South Seattle Emerald is committed to holding space for a variety of viewpoints within our community, with the understanding that differing perspectives do not negate mutual respect amongst community members.
The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the contributors on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the Emerald or official policies of the Emerald.
Chardonnay Beaver is a multimedia storytelling, influential speaker and writer. Her stories center the lived and historical experiences of minoritized communities in America, in a nuanced way. Her articles has been featured in Crosscut, The Facts Newspaper, The Seattle Medium — to name a few. Chardonnay is a recent graduate of the University of Washington, earning her degree in political science and journalism & public interest communication and minor in diversity studies. To learn more, visit her website.
Featured Image: Illustration of two hands with a heart symbol in the middle, April 2022. Designed by Chardonnay Beaver.
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