buddies

Written in a letter from an Afghani doctor detained for 32 months in an Australian detention facility:

Dear Barbara,
Smile is coming out from hearts and if someone has a damage heart, how he can smile?

Dear Friend:

Your heart is damaged. If your child has a damaged limb or is sick what do you do? You do the best you can to heal it. You medicate and nurture your child and give it encouragement. With a sick heart you must do the same. In normal circumstances you would take medicine and expose yourself to all the positive, loving people and places you know.

But you are not in a position to rely on the love of people or assistance outside yourself. So you must do it yourself. Repairing your heart is the most important work you can do. According to research, the heart, more so than the mind, carries the blueprint of our persona, so when you strengthen your heart, you strengthen yourself—and you will strengthen those connected with you.

How do you repair a damaged heart? By bathing it in love. Hold your hands over your heart. Feel the warmth. Talk to your heart. Tell it you appreciate it. Research shows how powerfully we are effected by color. Bathe your heart in whatever color or colors resonate for you. Visualize light radiating around and through your heart. Hold that image no matter where you are or what you are doing. Ask your heart what it needs from you.

I will work on this with you. How? By repairing my own heart. Every time we are emotionally wounded, our hearts constrict a little more, and so my heart, like the heart of nearly every person on the planet, is also damaged. I, too, will give my heart appreciation and light, and since we are connected in consciousness, any repair I make, will effect you. And since you are connected in consciousness to your family, any repair you accomplish will effect them. In fact, any repair you make will effect all who are connected with you. So you see, heart repair is a noble and far-reaching endeavor.

Now, you may be reading this and saying, “Oh, sure. This woman can say all these things because she is not the one in detention.” I realize to generate love from within yourself in your situation may be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. But it may be the most important. Maybe it seems strange or crazy. All I can say is, Experiment! You’ll never know if you don’t try. What have you got to lose?

Your friend, Barbara