When I first read this beautiful words by Ibn Arabi, I felt a sudden, quiet expansion in my chest. To imagine the heart as both a wide, open pasture for gazelles and a silent, sacred convent for monks is to dream of a spirit that has no boundaries. It suggests that true kindness isn't just about being nice to people we like; it is about creating a space within ourselves that is large enough to hold everything—the wild, the wandering, the holy, and even the difficult. It is an invitation to stop being judgmental and start being spacious.
In our busy, modern lives, we often try to shrink our hearts to make them easier to manage. We build walls to protect ourselves, or we narrow our focus to only the things that feel safe and familiar. We might find ourselves being kind to our friends but cold to the stranger, or patient with our family but impatient with the person cutting us off in traffic. We forget that a heart capable of true kindness must be able to accommodate all shapes of existence, from the energetic and free to the quiet and disciplined.
I remember a rainy afternoon a few weeks ago when I was feeling quite grumpy. I was tucked away in my little corner, feeling very much like a closed-up, tiny room. A neighbor stopped by to drop off some extra flowers, and even though I wasn't in the mood for company, I saw how much joy she was offering. I realized then that my heart was acting like a tiny, locked box rather than a pasture. I had to consciously decide to open the door, to let the warmth of her kindness in, and to let my own spirit expand to meet her energy. It was a small moment, but it changed my entire mood.
As I sat there reflecting on that moment, I thought about how much easier life becomes when we stop trying to categorize everyone we meet. When we stop deciding who is 'worthy' of our empathy and instead try to practice kindness in all its many shapes, we find a sense of peace that is unshakable. We become a sanctuary for others, simply by being a place where they are allowed to exist as they are.
Today, I want to gently nudge you to look at where you might be closing your heart. Is there a part of your life where you have become too rigid or too small? Try to take one small breath and imagine your heart widening just a little bit more. See if you can offer a moment of grace to someone unexpected, and notice how that spaciousness feels within your own soul.