The Art Of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
I love how when you allow your life to flow, you receive what you need. The adage that the teacher comes when the student is ready also comes to mind as the above book came to me recently and I must tell you that I devoured it. I mean truly ~ I started reading it yesterday and I finished it today! There are not many times that I am so enthralled with a book that I neglect other things while I feel so compelled to read because it is so special.
A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present. When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be…until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the reader’s belief in the power of love to move mountains. (from Amazon)
On page 244, there came a paragraph which struck a chord in me and perhaps when you read it as well, it may do the same to you. At times, love is difficult to see in our lives and it takes hearing the heartbeats of our loved ones in order to know that their love exists. Perhaps you will find solace, love and understanding below as I did.
“Because we see only what we already know. We project our own capacities `for good as well as evil’ ~ onto the other person. Then we acknowledge as love primarily those things that correspond to our own image thereof. We wish to be loved as we ourselves would love. Any other way makes us uncomfortable. We respond with doubt and suspicion. We misinterpret the signs. We do not understand the language. We accuse. We assert that the other person does not love us. But perhaps he merely loves us in some idiosyncratic way that we fail to recognize. I hope you will understand what I mean once I have finished my story.”
In the wake of my father’s death and in the healing of my heart as well as watching many friends recently (both in life and blogosphere) deal with the same circumstances, I feel the need to ignite the peace of understanding in our lives ~ hence this post today. If you are interested, you can click below on the picture of the book and it will bring you to Amazon where you can buy it via kindle or hard cover as you wish.
Shine On!
Keep Loving!
xo
Misifusa's Blog 
Great words! Thank you for reminding me to pay attention to the unexpected languages of love!
Thanks for reading! It is magical isn’t it? ❤
Sounds divine but will have to wait. Part of my art of hearing my heartbeat is to stop buying more books and read the ones I’ve got! 🙂
I know ~ I have the same issue, but this one I believe was ‘sent’ to me to read and it was perfect timing! 🙂
Sounds like a very interesting idea and how perfect for you at this time of loss to be able to read about a daughter’s search for father…if not in actuality at least in understanding. I used to work as a therapist and one technique to do is called mirroring…to match the breathing of the anxious person you are working with and then slow your breathing down so they can calm and be centered. It sounds as if this book matched your heartbeats and brought you peace. I’m glad. jo
Thanks Jo ~ it just helped me to realize that love comes in all different forms and sometimes it’s not the way we perceive it! 🙂
I’m glad that you found solace, love, and understanding, and all in a single powerful and remarkable paragraph. I believe that you also just gave the author a well-deserved incredible compliment.
Russ
Thank you Russ…I always feel like what helps me to understand some difficult relationships may help others. This paragraph just touched my soul. Hugs
You sold me on this book. It sounds like a book I would love and now I can’t wait to get my hands on it! I know I’ve heard it mentioned before…. just can’t remember who or where.
Let me know how you like it! Just click on the book and it will lead you to amazon. 🙂 Can’t get easier than that!
Sounds like a wonderful book.