Most people learn never to be vulnerable, never to open.   Even in the most intimate relationships, they remain guarded, closed, afraid.  We treat the heart as though it's a skittery creature, peering out from under a rock, that should never come into the sunlight for fear of predators.  The truth is, the heart is a powerful, awe-inspiring force to be reckoned with in the world.  When we see this energy fully revealed, when someone stands before us openhearted, we are moved to great calm, not violence.  We want to bask in the heart's light, want to portect and align ourselves with this energy we recognize as also our own.

      - Christina Baldwin, p. 189, Life's Companion--Journal Writing as a Spritual Quest