sent by Priya Sher
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.
But an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said,
“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. The young man looked at the old man’s heart 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.
“ 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.
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 lovefrom the old man’s heart flowed into his.
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The heart is the strongest muscle but it does hurt and break easily…mine is NOT perfect ……but I considered it PERFECT because it is full…people I love and encountered are inside of it..
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?
i’m now at peace…. thank you….
i love this story one of the best i have ever read…now i know my heart…
wow.. i really appreciate this story.. very nice..
i feel nauseous.
Es impresionante como creemos que la prefección lo es todo, cuando ni siquiera sabemos bien qué es la perfección. Desde mi punto de vista es un paradigma distinto para todos, pero esta lectura nos demuestra como es que a veces nuestra forma de ver las cosas es tan errada que podemos incluso regodearnos de ser los mejores y dejamos de lado la humildad, el amor verdadero, la espiritualidad, esas cosas que le dan verdadero significado a nuestras vidas por pequeñas que pueden parecer.
Debemos valorar muchísimo lo que tenemos por que es en esa cositas pequeñas, esos detalles que creemos que son taaan sencillos los que nos hacen casi perfectos tal cual somos.
Wow!! how beautiful is this, and how true.
I am sending a piece MrCoelho…I am an ardent reader of your writings and really love the way you reach out to people. Am sure your heart is full of pieces put in, still expanding to accommodate the drift coming in towards you….
sir i wanna ask something….is expressing one’s feelings is wrong ?? i always speak whtever comes in my heart offcourse to the people m close….but sometimes m afraid if they get annoyed by real me….
does this story come from paulo coelho himself? stories in his blogs inspire.
so inspiring..so touching..really beautiful..
Wow, very nice story..an inspiration…great…
The real beauty lies in spreading love its our human duty,but getting the same from others is not in our absolute right,still if we get love we must be thankful to GOD.
That is the cheesiest cheapest most sentimental cr*p I have read all year.
Just what I needed, thank you..
wonderful heart!