My heart already holds what I need to know. The thoughts that have trickled down into it are the important ones that I may or may not express. I attempt to release the thoughts causing stress in my head or pain in my gut before I decide to speak. I ask myself what would be helpful instead of harmful to share despite how others choose to express. With limited perception, I do my best to be heart-centered as much as possible.
Expressing from the heart is not easy for me. It requires vulnerability and openness to responses and reactions. If I choose to speak, I must be willing to listen. Also, just because I feel like I relayed a message full of heart and it will be well received does not mean that it will. It is a big endeavor to speak from the heart, but I believe the trickle down process gets tighter over time and practice. Sometimes I merely take a deep breath before speaking and that allows enough of an opening to my heart to speak from it. At least I have gotten familiar with the way I process my thoughts and know better when to take time before I decide to share.
Practicing this way of expressing in every day exchanges can prepare us for the major ones. Today, let's take time to let our thoughts work their way into our hearts asking ourselves if they are important enough to share. Will they be helpful or harmful to ourselves or another? If we are not sure, we can wait and allow time for the trickle down. Then, just do our best to express mindfully while honoring our own heart as well as those around us.