February is National Heart Month.  It is also Valentine’s Day the 14th, and the third week of February is Random Acts of Kindness Week.

            This got me thinking.  February is one of the best months of the year because it is dedicated to love.  Perhaps I am biased, as my birthday is in early February; and I also look forward to Ground’s Hog Day, waiting to see when Spring will arrive.  Nonetheless, February is the best month to look at our own heart.  What state is your heart in?  Is it healthy?  Maybe it’s time to take better care of it.  When was the last time you had a full checkup?  Had your blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides, checked? Are you abusing your heart by drinking too much, using drugs, or neglecting it by not exercising?

            The heart is a muscle, and it becomes stronger through aerobic exercise.  It also needs rest and care.  Walking is a great way to begin.  You will clear your head as well as care for your heart.    Stress is not good for the heart.  We cannot eliminate stress in our lives, but we can look at how we are managing our stress.  Ways to manage stress is to exercise, sleep, (7 to 9 hours is best), eating healthy foods, and having a spiritual practice to increase your faith and ability to cope.  The heart pumps blood (a life source) throughout the body. Let’s help our heart do its work.  

            Now, let’s look at the heart as the poets do.  They see the heart as the source of love.  Is your heart open to love?  Love is willing the good of another and is not just a feeling, but a matter of will and commitment.  It will involve sacrifice and forgiveness.  A heart that is cold and closed off, cannot love, and withers and dies.  Think of  the story of“The Grinch who Stole Christmas”. There is the story of a heart that was healed and grew to love through witnessing the love and kindness of others. 

            Being a source of kindness to others can open and heal a broken heart.  Receiving kindness and love does wonders for a wounded heart.  There is a line in one of my favorite songs, “Coming Around Again”, by Carly Simon. The refrain contains the line “There is more room in a broken heart.”  Ironically, it was written as the title song for the movie, Heartburn. The movie recounts writer Nora Ephron’s broken marriage to Carl Bernstein, (of Watergate’s fame), because of his infidelity.  The movie is worth a watch and so is listening to the song.  

            How should you make the most of February with your whole heart?  Here are a few suggestions:

            1.         Get to the doctor and assess your physical health.

            2.         In the third week of February and throughout February for that matter, practice random acts of kindness.  This includes yourself, your loved ones, and strangers.  Some suggestions, doing a chore for someone (like taking out the garbage or doing someone’s laundry), smiling at a stranger or holding open a door.

            Paying for the coffee of the person behind you in line at Starbucks, really listening to someone with your undivided attention without judgment or looking away without being distracted by your phone or computer, helping someone with their groceries in the supermarket.   For yourself- going for a massage, visiting a Church, a walk in the park, or taking a hot bath.

The list is endless.  It does not have to be something big, expensive, or great, just something to recognize that we all matter and in so doing, we expand our own hearts.

 In closing, I defer to Carly Simon’s last line in Coming Around Again.  “I believe in love.”  Do you?