heart take special: heart work
Heart Take III ft. Caroline Neil (www.carolineneil.com) and savant lamont.
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Happy Birthday to the Father of savant lamont, Darral Rucker! We wouldn’t be here without you! @daruck
Well, now that we have made sense of braving the landscapes of questioning and embracing the aesthetic of blank spaces, you might be wondering: now what? Fair question. Having the confidence to ask life’s toughest questions and befriending the unknown are two major steps toward mental freedom. Warning: the toughest work is ahead. This next stage is what we like to call heart work (see what we did there?), primarily because it requires that we take the time to wrestle with questions, blank spaces, and possibilities that may arise. Proceed, if you dare. I promise, it is well worth the investment and the ROI (return on investment) is worth more than all the commas in Jeff Bezos’ collective accounts.
You see, heart work is hard work for a number of reasons. For starters, looking inward is an uncomfortable process that we run from. If we are being honest, most of us rarely dare to dig at our own existence because for some reason or another, we are afraid of what we might find. In those depths, we could find ourselves in a mental space of realization that we might be more selfish than we thought; more caring than we exhibit; more human than we like to think possible. It can get ugly. Think back to the article where I shared some of these personal thoughts pertaining to caring about things/people more than I ever let myself believe. In order to get there, I had to dig. I mean, really dig and figure out just how much I cared and about what I cared for most. There were a lot of tears, frustrations, and various forms of desolation because I wanted so badly to not give a damn about certain things. However, I cannot block how I truly feel and to be honest, neither should you.
The depths are abysmal in many ways, but liberating in others. Facing demons is never an enjoyable experience but without facing them, there is no way to take control of our lives. We have to face them, play the chess match, and get them in check. At that turning point, liberation will start to creep in and we will then realize that we have nothing to be afraid of. It is the scared little demons in our head who ought to fear us, but we have to be willing to square up and make sense of their existence. Yes, I said theirs because we have to do the heart work of understanding why those thoughts are present and why they hold so much power. Remember that we choose what gets our energy; our power. Oftentimes, we choose the feed our fear. Why do we easily submit power to what feeds off of our fear? Because the heart work is hard work. Pausing to look inward and owning up to our humanity with all its nooks and crannies seems daunting. Therefore, we press those issues down to the depths of our (sub)consciousness and hope that they never come up again.
News flash: they will. They always will. In fact, as we continue to push them deeper and increase the pressure on the stronghold, we must remember that in this case we are not making diamonds, we are pressure-cooking an explosive that will eventually erupt and leave us in a Pompeii-esce space of desolation and confusion. You know, those times when we just snap and do something incredibly uncharacteristic of self that we resort to locking ourselves in our rooms out of sheer and utter embarrassment. Who wants to experience that feeling?
Instead, let’s be brave. Let’s befriend the blank spaces and stillness of life. Let’s sit quietly and enter the chess tournament in our mind, heart, and soul. Let’s submerge ourselves in the deep ocean of our own existence and make sense of the unknown that lies beneath the deep blue. It’s going to hurt, but it is worth it. Think of this scenario in congruence with those moments when we are underwater, holding our breath. Now, think about that moment when we stop swimming, treading, or worrying about surfacing. Still. That, that is what this process is like. Submerge. Hold, enjoy the space of being present - in that moment - with all humanity at stake. Synonymously, all humanity is at stake. It really is. It is true what they say: hurt people hurt people. As such, we live in a world where people are not willing to do the heart work and as such, we end up hurting people because we are afraid of facing the fears that exist in our heart and instead resort to projecting those insecurities onto others.
You are right here with us and you know what that means? It means you have already accepted that heart work is necessary because you are a loving, caring human being and you take the time to be better every single day. If you don’t feel that way -- please know that you are more than capable of loving, caring, and exploring all of you. So, allow us to walk you through some ways to get this chess match started.
Pause, here and now. Silence the phone, the noise around. Be still and see where your mind goes. What do you begin to think about? Stay curious, while also being intentional in taking note of the space.
Move. Stand up from where you are and move. Walk, skip, dance, or even march. Do what makes you feel alive. Movement is a way of expression and understanding who you are.
Buy our journal. Seriously, we created a guided journal dedicated To You and your growth. The focus of the journal is to provide a space where heart work can take place and the process of liberation can begin. It’s available on Amazon and can be at your doorstep in a few days.
Regardless of the medium that you choose, be intentional about the process and take the time to really wrestle with all of the thoughts in your mind. The third option presented here is the most practical route that we can offer, primarily because it was developed after years of personal digging. The questions asked in that guided journal are the exact same questions that we (the authors) challenged each other to answer. Through that process (and many meetings with our therapists), we got to the field. We would love for you to join us. It’s really beautiful out here; our eyes are clear, our hearts are full…we can’t lose here.
As a conclusionary measure, please remember that the process of self-actualization is a winding road of ups and downs. Sometimes we smile and sometimes we cry. There will be times where frustration will creep in, but do not fear. It is supposed to feel that way. As the great Nipsey Hussle once said,
“Man…you know, I be juggling. knowimsayin, I juggle a lot; I play a lot of positions, knowimean? So, um, my mentality when I do start to be like, damn this is a lot, knowimsayin is just like, that’s what it’s supposed to feel like. If you are going toward what the vision look like, that’s like greatness, that’s…you know, on multiple levels. that’s the vision that i’m working towards so im like, I just think about that like, this ish ain’t supposed to feel…you know, comfortable. it’s supposed to be uncomfortable. it’s supposed to stress you. it’s supposed to be a burden to a degree and you gotta wrap your mind around that, accept it, and embrace it and you catch the wisdom off that”
Simple as that. Go for it. Do the heart work. It’s worth more than all the diamonds in the world. That…is a guarantee.
Siempre,
Savant & Caro 🌹
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P.S. - the question now becomes, just how much did you enjoy the article and how will you show your support for our dreams? Here are a few ways to support!
1) Follow us on all social media! @savantlamont - @carolinaaneil - @hearttakepodcast
2) Tune in to our podcast, Heart Take, every Tuesday! (Spotify x Apple Podcasts)
3) Buy out guided journal titled To You and get to work!
Regardless, thank you for spending a few moments with us. we do value your time and thoughts, so please do not hesitate to leave a comment and let us know what you think. we would love to hear from you!