When I was in the hospital in 2008 after experiencing a bilateral pulmonary embolism, I was carefully monitored for a week.
My vitals read across a screen in a series of squiggly lines and numbers. As long as you had a squiggle, you were still alive. I came frighteningly close to having a flatline when the blood clots hit my lungs. It apparently wasn’t my time yet. But that’s a story for another day.
I recently started thinking about that monitor, and how our lives are truly measured in those squiggly lines. It’s a little like the “dash,” but those squiggly lines vary depending on your activity. The lines get quicker and varied when you’re heart beats faster, and bigger and less erratic when your heart slows down.
That is so like life, isn’t it? We have highs and lows, ups and downs. Some things excite you and make your heart beat faster, while others make you slow down, or even relax to a slow and steady rhythm. Our heartbeat rhythm is unique to us. My heart beat might beat faster for something vastly different than yours. But isn’t that what makes the world so amazing? We are all tailor made for different things. We each have our own purpose; our own life heartbeat.
Draw a horizontal line on a piece of paper. Keep this line with you everyday for one week. Every time something makes your heart feel full or “skip a beat” draw a squiggle up on the line. Don’t forget to name that individual squiggle to remember what made your heart happy in that moment. Monitor the activities, tasks, even people who make your heartbeat dance, and those that don’t and flatline your energy. By the end of the week, you will have a pretty good idea of what makes your heart beat vs flatline. Once you identify the ones that make you feel “flatlined” start a plan to get rid of or lessen the energy around those tasks.
Life’s too short. It’s time to live out your heartbeat!
Want help? Contact me for a free heartbeat mapping session!
Karlynn Holbrook 