There are many reasons your heart can be broken … loss of a loved one or pet, a relationship break up, a missed opportunity that you had your heart set on, an illness or injury that keeps you or someone you love from living a full life, just to name a few. I’ve shared with you some of my reasons, and in return, you've shared some of yours with me. But what helps to heal your heart ... and mine?

Throughout my rough patch these last 8 months, I have relied heavily on loved ones (friends and family) to help me. For me, this by far has been the biggest factor in helping to heal my heart. Loved ones checked in with me on a daily and weekly basis, or sporadically calling and texting to say "hi, how are you doing today?" When I reached out to them, they responded no matter what they were doing. Even if the response was “I’m here. I can’t talk right now, but I'll get right back to you.” I poured my heart and soul out and no one turned me away. They listened, even if the whole conversation was tear filled on my side. Crying is definitely a symptom of depression, and it's not necessarily about what is really happening. My family and friends let me cry and be vulnerable, and didn’t judge me. And checked in with me again later.

These ‘connections’ in my world kept me and keep me going. These connections in my life helped start the healing of my heart. And these connections are still helping my heart heal.

connections help heal your heart …

When I started making art again, I wanted to create something that would be easy on my still healing shoulder (from surgery in November). And I wanted to create something meaningful to me too. So I began a series of ‘healing hearts’ … heart art signifying the healing process. The first idea was a heart broken into two halves, with the metal ‘dots’ representing the connections in our lives that help heal our hearts. I expanded that idea because sometimes your heart isn’t just broken in two...sometimes it feels shattered. But our connections in life help pull those pieces together and hold them there. Our hearts are never the same, but they can be just as beautiful mended with all of our loved ones helping to keep our heart together.

turn your broken heart into wings … and fly

As I was creating these ‘healing hearts’ I noticed that the two halves of the heart looked like wings. And my thought was that wings made from our broken hearts could help us fly. So, that is exactly what I am doing with these ‘healing hearts’ … turning my broken heart into wings, so I can fly again.