Breakable

Have you ever thought about what protects our hearts?
Just a cage of rib bones and other various parts
So it's fairly simple to cut right through the mess
And to stop the muscle that makes us confess

And we are so fragile
And our cracking bones make noise
And we are just breakable
Breakable, breakable girls and boys

This song by Ingrid Michaelson is hauntingly beautiful. As I listened to the lyrics a few moments ago, I thought about what it meant to be fragile. It could mean that you are weak, or incapable, or vulnerable. All of those have such negative connotations. We are fragile, but I think that fragility allows us to be vulnerable in a good way, vulnerable to love. Think of all the references to a hardened heart. What type of image does that incur? To me, a hardened heart is one that cannot break. A heart that cannot break cannot truly love. To truly love, you must be vulnerable. You must open yourself to another. Love makes us hurt. Love makes us grieve. Love helps put us back together. If we can never be broken, we can never experience the goodness of the mending, for "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." And for that, I will hold my fragile heart in outstretched arms to love.