~ lead from the heart (the rest will always, always follow)

lead from the heart
and the rest will follow

sometimes fear gets lodged
in the space between the shoulder blades
and the shoulders round forward
to protect the sadness
in the heart

the vulnerability of
being alive

and over time

the head juts forward
and
the diaphragm restricts
the movement of breath
from reaching those spaces
in the body that
are confined in the threads
of being deeply
misunderstood so many times

and they become
rigid
tight
weak
an unfortunate identity of
who the mind thinks the
spirit is

the body,
a storybook of the journey
so far

the body, a manifestation

and
until the story is over, one is here
to discover what the body
is concealing under
all of the layers
that feel so confining

and each breath
every single one
is an opportunity to be brave

to direct the story

to loosen the threads of rigidity
to peel back
and discover what the heart can let go of

in times of remembrance,
to take a deep inhale into the belly
to place both hands on the chest and gently command
it to open
to expand the heart forward
peeling the shoulders back and down

to just fill up!
taking up so much space
so. much. space

deflating like a balloon on the exhale

maybe noticing
how the diaphragm expands
when the heart is leading

how much easier it is to breathe

and maybe sending each full breath
to the sadness, to the fear, to the pain
that confines the body

and
maybe those strands loosen
maybe some space is made
just maybe
one can feel what can be let go of

the heart
so soft, fluid, light
expansive
free and ever loving
cannot lead if
it is buried

and joy dwells in the space in-between