11 Ounces of Power to Love and Lift …

What weighs 11 ounces, is only slightly larger than the average fist, but has the power to change everything? The answer, my dear friend, lies hidden within you and me—the heart. Pumping, on average, around 100,000 times each day, this amazing physiological wonder pushes about 5 quarts of blood through the human body’s blood vessels every minute—that's a whopping 2,000 gallons every day, spanning more than 60,000 miles, according to research from the Cleveland Clinic.

I find these fun heart facts truly amazing; however, most of us well know that although it weighs a mere 11 ounces and can fit in the palm of the hand, the life-changing power and potential it inherently possesses can break any scale.

The late Helen Keller—a truly inspirational woman who became blind and deaf as an infant—said it best: “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched—they must be felt with the heart.”

Friends, this is so true, but I would like to take Keller’s thoughtful reflections a little further. Though blind, Keller could “see” the “best and most beautiful things” because her 11-ounce heart was beating, as it were, to the “life-lifting,” inspirational rhythm and power of love. However, in this day and age, as I look at what’s happening around the world, read the headlines and gaze into the eyes of so many people, my heart is heavy. Many individuals are blinded by selfishness, filled with intolerance and controlled by destructive emotions that fuel behavior to do the unspeakable.

So, how do we fix this? Well, it’s quite simple. February is love month, and our world needs more of it. Open wide the windows of greater possibilities that can maximize your 11 ounces of power and allow the light of love to lift you to the “most beautiful things,” which are hope, acceptance, unity, peace, unselfishness and compassion. If we do this together, everything will change, and the world will become a much better place.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Annette Briggs