Part III - A Good Heart
The Heart Must Bleed
1
The heart must bleed; such is its way.
____________________
The heart must bleed, but not only for itself,
Bathing in its own blood, until it drowns,
And the body starves.
Don’t praise the heart that causes the eye to weep endlessly,
That allows the arms to hang in defeat.
Don’t trust it when your back bends, and your feet ache,
When it desires poison for the stomach,
And only wants to spread the seeds of passion and not life.
Such a heart is deceptive above all.
It burdens the mind and soul by thinking only of itself,
____________________
The heart must bleed, but according to its design.
Stitch it together with arteries of hope, and veins of understanding.
Let it pulse blood through capillaries of love.
Then the body will be made strong,
And the chest will not fall.
Then the hand will reach out,
And its grip won’t fail.
The good heart pumps life to the whole body,
As it bleeds, it sings the song of love.
Though no ear may hear it, and every eye might turn away,
Its joy does not come from the praise of others.
The source of its joy is the source of its life.
When hateful tongues mock it,
And darkened minds reason against it,
Its love does not wane.
It always hopes because it knows
No evil can last forever,
And no good will ever fade.
In confidence it applies itself to right deeds
It cooperates with every part of the body,
Spreading love, and light, and life for all of its beating days.
2
| The Heart of the Thinker |
And though these mysteries are not yet fully known,
The good heart excites itself by seeking them out.
It encourages the mind to search for truth
And in that way to find hope and love for them both
It rejoices when new waves of understanding wash over it,
When truth’s light is reflected off the waters of life
And shines brightly across its vision.
When darkness envelopes it the good heart is not afraid,
It fixes its gaze on wisdom’s flame
And cheers every spark that leaps out from its crackling fire.
It warms itself by the embers of peace,
while the mind meditates on illuminating truths.
____________________
The heart must bleed; to invigorate the contemplative mind
3
| The Heart of the Speaker |
And the heart must bleed, to sustain both marrow and bone,
To strengthen every muscle and tendon.
Then the mouth may open, and the tongue be loosed,
Then it may speak words set ablaze by eternal fire,
That have been quenched in the waters of life.
Such utterances will be harder than perfectly cut diamonds,
When they are sent forth from tender lips full of love.
They will be equipped to overturn every evil foundation,
To collapse the mighty walls that fortify its madness.
The good heart loves to proclaim the truth,
But hates being entrenched in conflict.
It does not weary itself with endless repetition,
For it knows the final victory has already been won.
There is no value in becoming mired in petty feuds.
When it comes to a place where light already shines
It leaves the blind and the stubborn, to prosper amid their ruin,
To build their empires in the valleys of destruction.
The good heart goes to establish itself upon cool, green hillsides
And calls to those who have not stopped up their ears;
It shows them where they may find good soil,
And a sure place to set down their roots.
4
| The Heart of the Healer |
To all who are sick the good heart desires to bring healing,
It traces every illness back to its source, aided by the mind and spirit.
Its joy is to see every soul made well.
It grieves at the sight of disease.
When corruption fills its nostrils its blood starts to boil.
“How long will death be allowed to contend with life?
When will evil drain its cup and fall backward into its open grave?”
“When the time is right death will lick the last drop from its chalice,
When the cup of life has been filled to its brim.”
Today is the day to seek the cure to every disease
And plant seeds of life where any opportunity is found.
Do so out of a desire to celebrate life, not to prolong it;
Don’t labor to survive, but instead to defy death,
Understanding that true life never ends.
Every heart must bleed, until the day its beating stops
But when the body fails, its hope will go on
Carried away in spirit, to the place of its greatest passion.
5
| The Heart of the Living |
Every soul takes flight on broken wings;
But the good heart weeps at the sight of its tattered feathers.
The prideful spiral down,
Trusting in the hope they sewed for themselves,
Back in the valleys of destruction.
To their beloved valley the mighty will plummet,
But the humble will glide upward on currents of light.
On high their wings will be made whole,
And they will follow the courses of the Way,
Beyond the furthest star--
To the well-watered lands of undying light,
To the place of joy without sorrow to dampen it,
Of passion with no selfishness to betray it,
Of humility that puts no life above another;
Where peace is made perfect and complete,
And every soul shines brighter than the stars;
Where all creation sings together in perfect harmony,
And love never fails.
There every heart will bleed endless red rivers of life,
And not a single drop will ever be spilled.
The heart must bleed; such is its way.
____________________
The heart must bleed, but not only for itself,
Bathing in its own blood, until it drowns,
And the body starves.
Don’t praise the heart that causes the eye to weep endlessly,
That allows the arms to hang in defeat.
Don’t trust it when your back bends, and your feet ache,
When it desires poison for the stomach,
And only wants to spread the seeds of passion and not life.
Such a heart is deceptive above all.
It burdens the mind and soul by thinking only of itself,
____________________
The heart must bleed, but according to its design.
Stitch it together with arteries of hope, and veins of understanding.
Let it pulse blood through capillaries of love.
Then the body will be made strong,
And the chest will not fall.
Then the hand will reach out,
And its grip won’t fail.
The good heart pumps life to the whole body,
As it bleeds, it sings the song of love.
Though no ear may hear it, and every eye might turn away,
Its joy does not come from the praise of others.
The source of its joy is the source of its life.
When hateful tongues mock it,
And darkened minds reason against it,
Its love does not wane.
It always hopes because it knows
No evil can last forever,
And no good will ever fade.
In confidence it applies itself to right deeds
It cooperates with every part of the body,
Spreading love, and light, and life for all of its beating days.
2
| The Heart of the Thinker |
And though these mysteries are not yet fully known,
The good heart excites itself by seeking them out.
It encourages the mind to search for truth
And in that way to find hope and love for them both
It rejoices when new waves of understanding wash over it,
When truth’s light is reflected off the waters of life
And shines brightly across its vision.
When darkness envelopes it the good heart is not afraid,
It fixes its gaze on wisdom’s flame
And cheers every spark that leaps out from its crackling fire.
It warms itself by the embers of peace,
while the mind meditates on illuminating truths.
____________________
The heart must bleed; to invigorate the contemplative mind
3
| The Heart of the Speaker |
And the heart must bleed, to sustain both marrow and bone,
To strengthen every muscle and tendon.
Then the mouth may open, and the tongue be loosed,
Then it may speak words set ablaze by eternal fire,
That have been quenched in the waters of life.
Such utterances will be harder than perfectly cut diamonds,
When they are sent forth from tender lips full of love.
They will be equipped to overturn every evil foundation,
To collapse the mighty walls that fortify its madness.
The good heart loves to proclaim the truth,
But hates being entrenched in conflict.
It does not weary itself with endless repetition,
For it knows the final victory has already been won.
There is no value in becoming mired in petty feuds.
When it comes to a place where light already shines
It leaves the blind and the stubborn, to prosper amid their ruin,
To build their empires in the valleys of destruction.
The good heart goes to establish itself upon cool, green hillsides
And calls to those who have not stopped up their ears;
It shows them where they may find good soil,
And a sure place to set down their roots.
4
| The Heart of the Healer |
To all who are sick the good heart desires to bring healing,
It traces every illness back to its source, aided by the mind and spirit.
Its joy is to see every soul made well.
It grieves at the sight of disease.
When corruption fills its nostrils its blood starts to boil.
“How long will death be allowed to contend with life?
When will evil drain its cup and fall backward into its open grave?”
“When the time is right death will lick the last drop from its chalice,
When the cup of life has been filled to its brim.”
Today is the day to seek the cure to every disease
And plant seeds of life where any opportunity is found.
Do so out of a desire to celebrate life, not to prolong it;
Don’t labor to survive, but instead to defy death,
Understanding that true life never ends.
Every heart must bleed, until the day its beating stops
But when the body fails, its hope will go on
Carried away in spirit, to the place of its greatest passion.
5
| The Heart of the Living |
Every soul takes flight on broken wings;
But the good heart weeps at the sight of its tattered feathers.
The prideful spiral down,
Trusting in the hope they sewed for themselves,
Back in the valleys of destruction.
To their beloved valley the mighty will plummet,
But the humble will glide upward on currents of light.
On high their wings will be made whole,
And they will follow the courses of the Way,
Beyond the furthest star--
To the well-watered lands of undying light,
To the place of joy without sorrow to dampen it,
Of passion with no selfishness to betray it,
Of humility that puts no life above another;
Where peace is made perfect and complete,
And every soul shines brighter than the stars;
Where all creation sings together in perfect harmony,
And love never fails.
There every heart will bleed endless red rivers of life,
And not a single drop will ever be spilled.