January 29, 2013 –Moth-Eaten Heart
Moth Eaten Heart
A friend of mine posted this picture on Facebook in advance of Valentine’s Day. It was a leaf that was naturally shaped like a heart that she and her husband found while walking on their 30th anniversary. The delicacy of where the insects had eaten it away, the tattered, dried lacey condition it was in was intriguing. She told me that when they found this they had been on the brink of divorce and then decided to hang in there. She felt the leaf symbolized the state of their marriage – tattered, eroded, fragile, but still holding together, albeit delicately. I got to thinking about a heart that has been eaten away, little by little over time.
January 30, 2013 –The HeART Project –The MOTH-EATEN HEART
I’ve changed the name of this thing to “The HeART Project” for now. Better than Stupid Hearts Project. Work is progressing on the “Moth-Eaten” heart. I named it that because the leaf image reminded me of Matthew 6-:19
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
I’ve been thinking about that image, and about the eventual deterioration of all that we hold dear on this earth. Even when there are no big explosions, no great traumas, all will eventually succumb to slow steady erosion by the insects of time.
I’ve thought about the many superstars – athletes, politicians, entertainers, & musician types here in Nashville who’ve lived and still live for public accolades & acclaim. When you’ve been around long enough to see some of their stars rise and then fade and fall, you then begin to see what they’re really made of. Some have had their hearts set on things of substance – their families, their faith, philanthropic efforts, caring for other people… and as their power or position or notoriety fades, they fall back onto what really matters and create a meaningful second act for the rest of their lives. For others, it’s as though there never was anything but a superficial shell – like a hollow eggshell – a veneer of charm, fame, beauty and reflected glory from the spotlights — BUT as soon as the applause fades and bookings dry up, or their health and strength diminish, it’s as though they’ve dried up inside too and their lives become empty, ghostly, sad shadows of their former identities. Sometimes drugs or alcohol take over. Extend that to relationships. If the couple was ALL about the sexy hot romance, being the glitzy power couple, (think Entertainment Tonight) and the important fundamentals of a REAL relationship/marriage were never there… then the moth eventually eats away the heart of their connection to reveal… emptiness. Even worse, if their coupling was centered around acquiring trappings – cars, boats, bigger and bigger houses, position, social standing, then the rust erodes all of that eventually as well.
But not to pick on the famous, for in fact the process for us regular folk can be even more insidious. It can be just a slow erosion of substance & character & strength by the moths of time, deprivation, disappointments and monotony.
The cool stuff was fun and made for a great life.
You all loved me then – my boat, my big parties.
But it’s too late now, you’re all gone, and I’m about to blow away.
