In my Alphabet of the Heart, H is for Heaven.
“Heaven?” said my mind? “Really?” My mind thought that the word”Heart” was the obvious choice in the Alphabet of the Heart for the letter “H”.
However, my Heart brought a memory of lessons learned and led me to the word “Heaven”.
My Heart has taught me that heaven must not be very far away.
I have, perhaps, specialized in grief counseling during my career. I think my Heart did most of the training.
My Heart reminded me of an experience that I had many years ago as a young counseling intern.
How My Heart Taught Me About Heaven
I was working at a juvenile diversion program. They gave me a closet (literally! No windows) to use for counseling and I painted rainbows on the walls and built a sand tray for play therapy.
One client was a 12-year-old boy whose father had died suddenly of a heart attack. He was struggling with grief and in school and was referred to me by the school.
We would play with the sand tray toys, draw and talk about his father. During the fifth session, he paused and said: “When I come here, it’s like my father is standing in the corner!”
I was young in years and experience and was speechless. Part of me had no idea what to say or how to respond.
I remember the moment. It took me off guard and surprised me. What came out of my mouth and, in hindsight, from my Heart, surprised me.
I said, “That must mean heaven is not very far away!”
I could feel his father’s presence too. We sat in silence for a while in mutual acknowledgment of what was present.
It is my experience (and has been reinforced countless times with individuals and families) that whenever I and a client (or a family) talk about someone who has passed (a grandparent, an uncle, a child, a brother or sister….a loved one), it is as if a part of that person’s soul comes present with us.
Somehow, through the love that is shared and lives in the Heart, a doorway to heaven opens and everyone is present in the loving. It envelops us like a comforting cloud.
The Heart is a Doorway to Heaven
This experience has been repeated countless times in my decades of counseling and in my personal experience of grief. It is palpable in the room and most everyone acknowledges that they feel it too.
The loving heart of all is present to comfort all.
Heaven is close at hand. Heaven is not very far away. Access to awareness of heaven is available through the loving Heart. When someone says “my love is always with you.” That is true.
It is our job to get past the barriers and obstacles in our mind to access the doorway to heaven and realize that it is, indeed, close at hand. Often the obstacle is fear. Love is the only cure for fear. And Love is only available through the Heart.
I have learned that we are all connected in ways we don’t understand and more than we know or can conceive.
The Heart (the Spiritual Heart) is a doorway to heaven.
Focusing on the loving, we open that door and the winds of heaven can move through us, touch us, comfort us and uplift us. It is then that we might feel the invisible yet tangible winds and rhythms of Grace
The doorway is unique and personal to each Heart. It is present and accessible in each Heart.
One must only choose to be open to the experience. Often, it is in grief that this happens. It is the blessing found in grief.
The Blessing in Grief
In my experience and observation, we don’t “choose” during grief. The grief itself, the apparent “loss of love” that we experience, moves us, presses us, into a position of being more open (or in surrender) to what is always present and available – a doorway to know that Heaven is real and the connection is through the Heart.
Grief overrides the fear of experiencing something unknown and mysterious. Grief only exists because of Love and what we perceive as the loss or departure of Love. Grief opens our hearts to realize and recognize the depth of love.
This experience is not “looking back” to remember. 
It is being present in the presence of love, experiencing the love….that is present and that was never really lost.
Gratitude is the feeling that arises when we focus on the loving and receive the blessings.
I am grateful to know that heaven is not very far away.
Always Follow Your Heart in All Ways
