Language of the Heart
Speaking the language of the heart and applying that to your life story writing can make your memoir resonate with others.
We live in a time when communication tools are greater than ever. Yet how often do you feel like you are really making a connection with another person? I mean, really connect.
So much of our talking and texting can be superficial. When someone asks you, “How are you?”, the standard response frequently is, “just fine.” Or, “good, I’m okay.”
What’s really going on in our head—and in our heart—often is not revealed.
If you do have someone with whom you can be completely honest that can be a great gift. It is only when we find people who really listen and care about us that true connection can take place.
Valued, Recognized, Understood and Appreciated
In our relationships with others we want to be valued, recognized, understood and appreciated. Yet it’s common to be guarded. Trust is a tricky thing.
People in recovery, those who are working steps and walking a spiritual path, often speak of a language of the heart. Applying that to memoir writing will make your story resonate with others. I think that is one of the reasons we should share something about our life journey. We all are living our own lives, but there is much in common in the human experience.
To learn another’s story and relate it to our own is a wonderful thing.
The Language of the Heart is typically a metaphorical way we make a deep spiritual or emotional connection with another person. Certainly there are verbal cues, so it helps to be physically present with another person. However, I have found this language can come across in the written word or in online visits such as Zoom or FaceTime.
It comes down to how real and vulnerable we are willing to be.
When empathy and compassion are part of your recollections and are shared in a memoir it reveals a meaningful depth to your character. This is why it is often so crucial to write about the hard times in your life, those times when you were lost, frustrated, angry, feeling hopeless or wondering how you will go on.
Most of us have had those experiences.
Speaking from the heart can create opportunities for healing relationships. Often we need to forgive. That is good for those we grant forgiveness, but mostly it’s important for us. We let go of the hurt, anger and resentment and that is beneficial for our health, both physical and mental!
More and more I think it is important to let your heart be your guide. It doesn’t mean you don’t weigh the pros and cons and use your brain to make good decisions. But “head decisions” can end up cold and calculated without the heart.
Putting the two together seems like the better way.
