The Heart of the Matter

A soulful reflection on living from the heart—exploring intuition, connection, ancient wisdom, and how returning to heart space can guide us through noise, division, and everyday life

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A matter of the heart is the heart of the matter.

This is my new mantra.

Quite timely since February is associated with chocolate hearts in red velvet boxes, Valentine’s Day and all things love (Cupid included). Beyond the Hallmark greeting cards, what does it mean to be in our hearts, anyway? To walk the walk and talk the heart talk?

It got me digging, researching, pondering, thinking about my own life...because I want to show up in love and to be aligned with my heart...always.

Hey, our tagline at the café reads, love on every plate. And we mean it!

Isn’t it interesting that in most business scenarios we are told to keep our heart out of the negotiation — and yet, it is the heart that guides us like no other, no matter where we are and what we are navigating. And let’s just admit that we are all navigating a lot right now — collectively and in our own ways.

It’s our job to stay connected, open and clear — to feel and get back into our heart space. But this frenetic, noisy world full of distractions fosters detachment. Honestly, we all lose in that scenario.

Recently one Sunday morning at mass the priest, Father Tom, shared his morning practice. He recounted how before he opens his eyes each day, he offers his heart to God. That spoke to me and instantly tenderized my heart. What a lovely way to greet each morning.

How could I do this? What would that look and feel like?

I am committed to staying in my heart as much as possible, always. And yes, I am human — sometimes I need to course correct, recalibrate, come home again. My heart swells, my heart aches, my heart breaks, my heart leads, my heart desires, my heart beats and sometimes it retreats. It is the pulse of my life, my ultimate guide. It brings goosebumps down my arms, chills up my back, tears from my eyes.

Whether I’m listening to a customer share a hardship, or I hear a sad song, read a moving passage in a book or learn of some devastating news — it is felt deeply in the heart, the invisible thread that connects us.

The heart is a vast vessel of emotions, thoughts, memories, will, motivation, intuition, curiosity, energy. Did you know that it has an electromagnetic field that extends three feet? It’s a sensory superpower.

You know that feeling when you are within close proximity to someone — it can either feel inviting or alarming. The body doesn’t lie. If you pay attention, you will recognize that it picks up on the energy of another and senses what they are feeling, experiencing, going through without even knowing the details. It’s like an energetic umbilical cord connecting humanity.

But it’s so easy to jump to over-thinking and over-analyzing rather than feeling, to judge rather than observe, to react rather than witness — even when we don’t know where their state of being is in mind, heart and spirit.

It blocks the possibility of extraordinary experience, discovery and connection.

Lately the word HEART has appeared everywhere I turn as if it was calling to me...and I’ve taken notice. From church sermons to books I’m reading, articles I skim through, scrolling TikTok, scripture and beyond...so of course, I leaned in and paid attention. As I tend to do, I went down a rabbit hole and was amazed by the many tidbits of information that I uncovered.

For example...amazingly, the first organ to form is the heart.    

Scripture mentions it over 800 times in passages like, “Truth lies in your heart” and

“Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

While I’m a bible reader, I didn’t want to be biased here so I dug deeper...

Ancient civilizations and religions believed pretty much the same, if not practically identical. The heart speaks a universal language. Amazing, inspiriting and reaffirming. I know, I know. I’m a spiritual geek.

Traditional Chinese medicine says the heart is not just an organ, it is the center of our inner world, it bridges the physical and our spiritual.

Whether delving into Islam, Native American tradition, Indian Ayurveda or ancient Egypt — the collective belief is that the heart is the center of spiritual wisdom and interconnection with all life, the seat of all human vitality. 

So, in this moment in our collective history, a time of noise, division, and polarity how do we get back into our heart space? When you want to distance yourself, run for cover, hide...how do we stay in the heart? How do we keep from separating and growing the divide?

We tend to our own garden. We sit in stillness. We reflect. We feel. We ask to know the truth of a situation. We listen to the beat of our heart.

Is there a place your heart is hurting?

Where has it hardened or closed and shut off?

What is the most loving thing to do in this situation?

Where is your heart calling to you — where is it directing you?

You don’t have to make a massive discovery. Maybe you aren’t far from your heart. Just consider how you can soften in this moment right here. Breathe that in. Feel it and nurture it so it can expand further.

I am grateful to Father Tom’s nudge because my heart like yours, has been guarded at times, and betrayed — but it has also been healing and growing and learning how to trust life and myself.

Good decision/bad decisions, ups/downs and all arounds, I am grateful for this heartbeat and for yours. 

So go ahead, place both hands on your heart, close your eyes and inhale its blessing. Then celebrate with a chocolate (vegan, of course) or two! Happy Valentine’s Day! Happy February! Happy heart-tending my dear ones!

Let’s stay connected in heart and mind.

—Lea Haas, Owner, The Garden Cafe Woodstock