Heart Springs
Guarding Your Well
As winter transitions to spring, the rains arrive more often and freezing temperatures become less daily. Water changes from frozen to flowing, and nature responds with evidence of life. In this issue, I use water and its storage in wells as a metaphor for our hearts. Like water flowing from a well, such is the life flowing from our hearts. Because emotion and motivation spring from your heart, it’s vital to guard your well.
Note about the image: This is the stream at Mystery Acres in the spring.
My Mysterious Mind
The first half of this month was full of time with family. I enjoyed a twelve-day stay with my oldest daughter who welcomed her third son; then I cherished a three-day visit with my other daughter and her family who stayed with us. In the aftermath of this two-plus weeks of a world full of grand-kids, a good friend asked me, “How’s your heart?” I replied, “My heart is good, but my body is weary.”
That started me thinking about my heart, specifically as the wellspring for life. The “heart” is the place from which our emotions flow, and the place into which our emotional experiences are stored. It is a bit like a spring, or well, of water. When our hearts are good, what flows out of us is fresh and alive. When our hearts are contaminated, the “water” flowing from us is toxic.
Spending time with my grandchildren fills my heart with joy and love. I smile more spontaneously. I respond to frustration with greater optimism. Reality isn’t bound to what is, because I’ve been in the world of imagination, where sticks can be treasure-detectors, and pine cones can be children gathered for school. My heart is alive with creativity and hope.
There is so much that contaminates my heart, poisoning my source of life. Of course there are the obvious toxins like the news, which is filled with tragedy. But there are countless tiny sources of poison, in discouraging comments or my own dark predictions. And, deep within my heart, are the contaminants of historic, painful experiences.
Bit by bit, my heart becomes tainted. This source of freshness and life is gradually contaminated. What flows from me is less and less life-bringing; I need decontamination. As I prepare to write this issue, I am mindful of how what is in my heart might contaminate the thoughts I share with you. Like needing clean water from a well in order to support life, how can the “water” of my heart be purified so what I offer supports life in you?
Message from Mystery Acres
Water is needed for life and for the support of cleanliness. In my civilized home I take water for granted as it is supplied by our own well, filtered of sediment by our whole-house filter, and filtered again from our fridge for drinking. The water from our well is drawn from several hundred feet below the surface, naturally filtered by layers of earth.
In contrast, having water in our patch of forest is a challenge. Our stream runs only during the spring rains and is usually dry by early summer. We have searched for fresh water from an underground spring but have yet to find one on our property. Our neighbor just had a well drilled on his property; it costed $15,000, not including the pump. My husband built a rain-collection system on the side of our metal garage, but we have to drain it before the first hard freeze so the above-ground pipes don’t burst. This winter he disassembled the collection system to bring the containers home for a thorough cleansing. We could store water during the winter, but that requires an underground cistern or a heat source to keep pipes and containers from being damaged by freezing water.
During the non-freezing months (from late April through early November), we can use the water collection system for on-site water for our motor-home and cabin. During the freezing months, the motor-home is winterized; thus, we have to bring water with us. And, year-round, we bring bottled water for drinking purposes. My husband and I enjoy watching “Homestead Rescue,” where the Raney family helps people living off-grid to become more self-sufficient. Almost every episode features the problem the homesteaders are having with their water supply.
If we spent more time at Mystery Acres, we would need a better source of water, one that is on-site year-round. While inconvenient to bring needed water with us for a few days, to do so for longer periods would be problematic. A year-round water source would need to be underground to prevent freezing. Would we have a well drilled or would we build an underground cistern for rainwater? What would we use to draw the water from under the ground, perhaps a hand or battery-powered pump? I grew up with a well in the backyard from which a hand-pump was used to draw the water to the surface. This was the system most people used before becoming dependent on electricity to pump water.
The message of Mystery Acres is that water is vital and to not take it for granted. Water needs to be readily available and safe to drink. Wherever it’s collected or stored needs to be protected from contamination or cleaned periodically. And, using water as a metaphor for heart springs, what is stored or collected there needs great care as well.
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
“Guard your heart diligently, for your life flows from it.” (see Proverbs 4:23)
Ancient scriptures included in the Bible make reference to the “heart” over 700 times, and its plural version another 200 times. The mind, however, is only referenced about 200 times total, in singular and plural. As a thinker, this contrast intrigues me. I love to think and to think about my thoughts. Ancient Mystery’s Voice urges greater focus on what is happening in our hearts. The book of ancient wisdom known as Proverbs, offers the emphatic directive to guard our hearts diligently, some translations phrase this directive as using “all vigilance” in the keeping of the heart.
The reason for such dedicated protection of the heart is because life flows from it. This second phrase is often translated with the phrase “springs of life” regarding what is flowing from the heart. The imagery here is of the heart as a storage place of water, from which the waters of life flow forth. The message isn’t to ignore or take your heart for granted, but rather, to vigilantly keep watch over what it contains because what is flowing from the heart is the source of one’s life.
The heart, as the seat of emotion, motivation, and passion, is the energizing force behind everything we do. If that source is contaminated all of our actions are also contaminated. If I am driven by fear, anger, or despair, my actions are affected. My “life” becomes a flow of fear, anger, and despair for me and all those around me. If my heart is full of self-absorption, the stagnant flow of my life will swirl like a stench, making a healthy life impossible.
Ancient Mystery’s voice cautions the listener to exercise great care in guarding the wellspring of the heart. Like water, what flows from inside of us can be a source of health or suffering.
Living in Mystery
What does it mean to live in the mystery of guarding the well of your heart? Having a healthy source of internal water is much like having a healthy well. What flows into the well needs filtering or restriction from contaminants and what is held inside might periodically need detoxifying. I wrote about this in several previous publications which can be found in Reflective Adventures: Volume One under the sections entitled “Toxic Spaces” and “Restorative Spaces.” Here are some important basics to being vigilant about what is in your heart.
How healthy is what is flowing into your heart? Guarding the wellspring of the heart includes restricting the inflow of toxins. The first line of defense for a healthy heart is to limit time spent in toxic situations and with toxic people. Just as a good well needs to be prevented from the influx of chemicals and wastewater, the wellspring of the heart is kept more pure by protection from “environmental” toxins of negative relationships or discouraging situations. And, if such exposure is unavoidable, the use of filters for what is allowed into the heart is advisable. For me, this involves praying for an invisible force field around me so the toxins of others bounce off of me and are not absorbed into my heart.
Inevitably what is inside our hearts will become contaminated no matter our level of vigilance. This contamination could be the result of long-ago painful experiences or from slow leaks into our hearts from unhealthy relationships, media inputs, or ongoing painful circumstances. To have a clean wellspring of the heart, a periodic detox is helpful. Going into nature or a trip to the spa can be a great reset of one’s emotional core. Time in a healing community, such as a church or group of close friends, is also cleansing. For ongoing health, these detoxification times can be part of a regular, planned schedule. Does your calendar include such routine heart-cleansings?
Lastly, the heart can be made more clean by filling it with what is pure and alive. A healthy diet of encouraging books, movies, music, and relationships maintains “heart health.” Regular heart-healthy inputs will help assure toxins are not allowed to build up inside. A heart filled with fresh “water” ensures the outflow is life-giving.
As an old mom to young parents, I encourage you to restrict what contaminates your childrens’ hearts. Protect the wellspring of your children’s lives by steering them away from video games and movies with “dark” content. Fill their worlds with life-giving books, movies, music, and people. When their hearts become tainted, suggest a detoxifying experience in nature or a spiritual community. This is good for children and their parents!
Guard your heart diligently. Like taking water in your home for granted until the health department issues a boil order, most of us take our emotional wellspring for granted. We allow slow leaks into our hearts and we ignore toxins swirling around from dark dumping caused by previous trauma. If your wellspring is bad, the source of your life is adversely impacted. You can’t draw healthy water from a contaminated well. Be vigilant about protecting the health of your heart, the wellspring from which your life flows. Filter yourself from toxins, include purifying experiences for your emotions, and linger in places where fresh life is flowing into you.
Connecting With Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, I admit to neglecting my heart, the emotional wellspring of my very life. Help me to protect myself from toxic situations and relationships. Bring detoxifying experiences and communities into my world. Guide me into spaces where fresh life can fill me. Thank you for strengthening my resolve to be vigilant in guarding my heart, the source of my life, and the way my life flows into the lives of those around me. Amen.
Notes from Dr. Mac
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, I suggest you go to Bible Gateway. This free online version of the Bible allows a search of words or phrases in various translations. A search of the word “heart” or “hearts” will provide hours of intriguing exploration, revealing the importance of the source of motivation and emotions in our lives.
You can find previous posts and podcasts in my ARCHIVE and organized compilations in the My “Books” section.
Do you have thoughts to share? Please leave a comment below or through the Substack App, or email me privately at Dear Dr. Mac. I love to hear from you!
