Hearts on Loan

A tribute to the one who came after

. Everyone we love holds a piece of our hearts. Sometimes, the pieces we get back from our loan program look battered. Unstable. Unfixable. Ugly and unwanted. Sometimes we spend so much time examining the damage, that we neglect to see the beauty in the broken, because we are so angry at the state they left this very important piece of ourselves that we loaned to them. How dare they not care for this part of us, as we would care for theirs? Resentment builds, and we vow never to loan such an important piece to anyone else, ever again.

But where is the joy in that? It's the act of sharing that increases the joy.

The truth is, no item you loan should be given with the expectation of return on your investment. Some people default or never return it because they didn't see its true value or understand the importance of the item. Some people take out payment plans that they pay on faithfully, never missing the due date, only to fumble in the final year due to circumstances outside of their control. Some people take the loaned item and pawn it, or spend it on hookers and blow
( a worthy cause, to be sure). In the end, it isn't yours to change. It's your job to repossess what you can from them and repair what is left. It may not be in the same shape it was when you loaned it out, but every piece we give willingly is returned to us, with interest, even when the value becomes difficult to ascertain. Every dent, scuff, and ding is a clue; we just have to meet it with our own interest- with our own curiosity.

What did I learn?
How did I grow?
Did I give and receive in kind?
Did this person deserve the trust I willingly gave? If not, what would I change?
Will I select better next time, should I choose to loan this out again?

The fact of the matter is, so many people base their next step on the condition the previous borrower left the item in, rather than how they can love it back to life. Painstaking refurbishment of the damage done is something only the owner can do, because we hold the most love for it and see the most value in it. You're not responsible for the state the borrower left it in...only what you do with it once it is returned. That choice is entirely up to you.

Choose to love it back to life. Choose to share it as many times as you can manage. It's okay to take breaks. It's okay to put it in a display case for a period, to admire the life it has lived so far and give it space to settle.
But the dings? The scuffs? The dents? That's character. That's experience. That's a life well-lived.

And that's what makes it real.