A Heart without Words

“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”

                                                            ― Mahatma Gandhi

A Dearheart shared this quote with me, and for multiple reasons I find it terrific. 

I mentioned recently about following my heart, and feeling sure my heart will guide me where I’m supposed to go with life. Sometimes that means just stopping and feeling, not expecting my heart to be full of words.

One of the things I’ve accepted is that not everything I feel has words. Often I don’t understand what I’m feeling because I don’t have words for it. The words help me know what’s going on in my head, but when I don’t have those words, and I’m forced to feel, I have to sit back and allow the feelings to exist and be felt. It’s half comforting and half frustrating for someone who likes understanding and relies on words.

But in doing that… having a heart without words, you put yourself in a place to be listening. And if your intention is prayer, try allowing your heart to experience no words.

It’s like sitting with a friend and watching a sunset. You could sit there and talk, you could be looking at each other, finding words for thoughts, and thoughts for feelings, but you could also sit with that friend in silence and not think, watch the sky, witness the beauty right in front of you since it’s only going to last for a few minutes.

Take in the color, cloud, and light. If we do this, we give ourselves the opportunity to stop and feel. This is what I mean by a heart without words, this kind of beauty touches your heart, makes you feel things, and being ok with the fact there are not words for it is a great space to allow.

I still often find I feel things I don’t understand. Sometimes it’s in the desire to cry over a situation without knowing why I want to cry. Ya, I see some small reasons, but the desire for crying is far bigger than the understanding that brings the desire. I’m trying to allow more of the feelings of my heart to be felt without knowing the words right away. Sometimes in letting myself feel, I get to the words eventually. Which is really what I want… to understand myself better, and get clarity even if it has to come at the end, instead of the beginning.