Gosh.

A little while I came across this phrase for the first time. I know it is generally in use – but I guess I had never actually heard it or seen it written anywhere. Until recently. It was TImothée Chalamet who said it in his Time Magazine interview:

“I feel like I’m here to show that to wear your heart on your sleeve is O.K."
— Timothée Chalamet

(And what a mighty sleeve he wears in Little Women. I could talk about that movie in itself for hours).

This phrase deeply connected with me. Deeply. I mean – real deep. I hear it and I feel it in my chest.

I am not entirely sure what happened, but I was standing in the Newsagency, surrounded by magazines, holding the Time Magazine in my hands. And I had a “Pride and Prejudice”-moment. You know, what I mean? Like in the 2005 movie version where Elizabeth and Mr Darcy are dancing and everyone around them just seems to disappear and it is just the both of them in the room, dancing? That’s how I felt. I felt so immersed in these words and as if I was reading them in some kind of parallel universe. Nobody there. Just me and the magazine.

It was a beautiful moment and when I woke back up from it, I looked at the world differently.

You can actually wear your heart on your sleeve.

In this world where we are often taught to not be guided by our emotions, where being emotional is “unprofessional” and just another woman-thing, where many of us are trying to find back to their inner guidance and intuition – you can wear your heart on your sleeve.

Since my P&P moment – as this type of thing happens – I started to hear the phrase again and again over the next few weeks and every time, I was caught in awe of its beauty, in surprise at hearing it again and in disbelief in the Universe’s way of playing sometimes.

To wear your heart on your sleeve

What would it look like in your life if you did wear your heart on your sleeve – at least a little bit (more)?

What would your day and your life look like if you wore your heart on your sleeve?

How much more passion for life would you have?

How much truer would you be to your own deepest desires and wishes for yourself, your community and the world?

How much more beauty would you see on your walks? Would you notice more birds, more flowers and more people walking by?

I am yet to find out what exactly it would really look like for me to live by this phrase but in my imagination it would be a wildly aligned and free life without any holding back, filled with love and joy and happiness, filled with purpose and commitment for the cause I believe in.

What would it look like to you?

What would be your creative outlet? What kinds of projects would you be involved in? How much time would you spend in nature?

What a world it would be if we were all to wear a bit more heart on our sleeve, speaking our truth and being real about our emotions.

Shakespeare wrote it first

I looked up where this phrase comes from and what it actually means.

And here we go:

It was first recorded in the play “Othello” by William Shakespeare (that old genius – he and I have a complicated relationship). It was Iago who said:

For when my outward action doth demonstrate / The native act and figure of my heart / In complement extern, 'tis not long after / But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve / For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.

— William Shakespeare

The idea is that wearing your heart on your sleeve implies the danger of being more vulnerable and open to attack because you show your true colours.

The “sleeve” confused me a little bit at first – but in the Middle Ages (where the phrase very likely comes from originally), a sleeve actually referred to the arm piece of an armour, protecting the arm. The armour protected most parts of the body, at the centre of which (more or less) you find the heart.

So, it not only requires an extra effort to speak your truth and emotions today.

But for hundreds of years people have seen doing so as something dangerous and likened it to removing the heart from its highly protected (by armour) place in the chest and putting it out in the open.

What does that make you think about?

It’s not a weakness

This simple-seeming phrase goes deep. It shows that living your passion and speaking your truth and communicating your emotions truly is an act of courage.

‘Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor - the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant "To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart." Over time, this definition has changed, and today, we typically associate courage with heroic and brave deeds. But in my opinion, this definition fails to recognize the inner strength and level of commitment required for us to actually speak honestly and openly about who we are and about our experiences -- good and bad. Speaking from our hearts is what I think of as "ordinary courage.’
— Brené Brown

In my research for this article, I also came across a most beautiful charity that I thought I will share with you. It’s called Heart On My Sleeve and their mission is to change the way we think about mental health. Perhaps they touch your heart, too.

Now, over to you. A question to contemplate for you today (and tomorrow): Are you wearing your heart on your sleeve? And how could your life change to the positive if you did it (more)?

PS. Do you want to have a word for next year? Do you want to live next year with more guidance, intention and focus? Are you sick of making New Years’ Resolutions that don’t stick? Do you want to find a concept that lets you deeply connect to yourself and your life? I have cooked up a small beautiful little offer for you. I would love to support and coach you on your word for the year 2022.

Your Word Of The Year 2022:

Worksheet to begin playing with what your word of the year 2022 could be
1x 90 mins coaching to dive deeper on the meaning, to let your soul and heart express themselves, to look at what you are craving missing, wanting to create
1x 45 mins follow up session 3 weeks later
creating ideas on how to live your word of the year
quarterly e-mail check-ins throughout 2022
video teaching on the power of having a word of the year
and more
Make 2022 your year here.

PPS. Whenever you’re ready…

If you want to get clearer on your purpose, learn to love yourself, find the courage to step into your vision and make a difference in the world – let’s have a powerful non-binding conversation! I know you are here for a reason and I’d love to support you further. My support looks like this: You talk. You tell me about your dreams and your struggles. I listen. We play. Your life changes.

I’ve seen it time and time again. I’m ready when you are.

PPPS. If you loved this blog post, please share the love with a friend you know would benefit from it. Send it to them via WhatsApp, email it to them, text it to them, ... Whatever you've got to do to get this in their hands. ✨

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