"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Do you ever notice how much your heart knows before your head figures it out?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like... I don't know. Like yesterday I was stressing about whether to take that job. Making pros and cons lists, asking everyone's opinion, totally in my head about it. And then I just put my hand on my chest and... I already knew. The answer was just there."
"Oh yeah. I get that. It's like the body knows but the mind wants to keep talking about it."
"Exactly! So why do we ignore it?"
"Fear probably. Like the heart says something and the mind goes 'but what if you're wrong?'"
"Right. But here's what's weird - when I actually listened to my heart, everything got quiet."
"Quiet how?"
"Like all the anxious thoughts just... stopped. It wasn't scary quiet. It was peaceful quiet. Like I could finally breathe."
"Huh. That happened to me last week actually."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. My kid was upset about something and I was trying to fix it, give advice, solve the problem. You know, full parent mode. But then I just stopped talking and put my hand on her back. And I felt it."
"Felt what?"
"I don't know. Love? Connection? Just... this warmth. And she calmed down immediately. Not because I said the right thing. Because I was actually present with her."
"See! That's what I'm talking about. When you drop into your heart, the overthinking stops."
"But it comes back though."
"Of course it comes back. But now you know there's somewhere else to go. Somewhere that actually feels good."
"Yeah. It's like... the mind is loud but the heart is solid."
"Exactly. The mind is always spinning stories but the heart just... is."
"Is that presence? Like what all the spiritual people talk about?"
"I think so. But it's not some far away thing. It's literally right here."
"In your chest."
"Yeah. Just breathing. Just being. Just feeling."
"So why is it so hard to stay there?"
"Because the mind doesn't trust it. The mind wants to figure everything out. Control everything. The heart just wants to be with what is."
"That's wild."
"What?"
"I just put my hand on my heart while you were talking."
"And?"
"And everything slowed down. Like time stretched out."
"Right? It's always there. We just forget to check in with it."
"So what, we're supposed to just walk around with our hands on our hearts all day?"
"I mean... maybe? Or just remember. Like when the mind starts spiraling, just drop down. Feel your chest. Feel your breath. Come back to love."
"Come back to love. I like that."
"Yeah. Because the heart doesn't judge. Doesn't compare. Doesn't worry about tomorrow. It's just here. Just present. Just loving."
"Even when things are hard?"
"Especially when things are hard. The mind freaks out. The heart just... stays."
"Hmm."
"What?"
"Nothing. Just noticing my breath."
"Good noticing or worried noticing?"
"Just noticing. It's... nice."
"Yeah."
"..."
"..."
"Thanks for this."
"For what?"
"Reminding me I have a heart."
"You always had one."
"I know. I just forget to listen to it."
"We all do."
"..."
"See you in presence."
"See you in love."
"Same thing."
"Yeah."
See you in presence.