The Most Beautiful Heart

[Archived_Member16]

The Most Beautiful Heart

One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley.

A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.

Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said, "Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine." The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.

The people stared ­ "How can he say his heart is more beautiful?" they thought.
The young man looked at the old man's heart and saw its state and laughed. "You must be joking," he said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."

"Yes," said the old man, "Yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared."

"Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges - giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?"

The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks.

He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.

The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his.

They embraced and walked away side by side.

Author: Unknown

 

[Archived_Member5]

It is similar to a take told to me by my late mother. It was to illustrate the power of a mother’s love but I saw many lessons to be learnt by it.

A beautiful young man walked along a road on a busy hot summer’s day. He espied a crowd and, his curiosity aroused he moved towards the crowd to enquire as to what the commotion was about. At the fore of the crowd stood a woman, speaking eloquently to a smitten and enraptured audience. He moved closer to the lady and fell in love with her.

‘’Will you marry me’’ he spoke at last. ‘’For your words and heart beguile me, and I am taken by your articulate speech’’. The lady laughed and continued speaking. The man spoke again and with an almost fierce and urgent tone repeated his request. The lady then spoke. ‘’Tell me who do you love most in the entire world?’’ The boy replied ‘’my Mother, she is more dear to me than life itself’’

‘’To prove your ardent love and devotion, I request that you bring to me your mothers heart’’. The boy pleaded for her to reconsider and request of him anything but his Mothers heart. She laughed and dismissed him, returning to her talk.

The boy moved away and hastened home. Upon arriving home he saw his mother sleeping in the mid day sun. Anger rose within him at the woman’s petulance and he vowed to prove himself. Without further consideration he took a sharp knife and cut out his mother’s heart whilst she lay sleeping. Having executed the deed he ran out of the door and towards the gathered crowd along the way.

As he ran, the heart spoke to him ‘’Lal, my darling, don’t run so, you might stumble and hurt yourself. Upon hearing his mothers words and accustomed to obeying her, he slowed pace until he reached the place where the lady remained talking to her friends. He pushed through the crowd, until he reached the Lady who looked surprised to see him again.

‘’Here’’ he spoke with outstretched hand, ‘’Here is my mother’s heart as you requested’’. The lady looked surprised and when gathering her thoughts she spoke thus. ‘’My dear, if you are willing on a whim to kill your mother for a love you feel for me, what will arise when another captures your imagination, will I meet the same fate and end as your poor mother. I adamantly refuse to marry one who professes to love one, and murder the same for another, what would become of me if you tired of me’’ saying this she turned away and continued speaking to her friends.

In one day the man lost his dear wise Mother and his Love. It is a lesson in scruples and of a mother’s steadfast unconditional devotion for her child’s welfare.