Gold, for the instant, lost its luster in his eyes, for there were countless treasures of the heart which it could never purchase. —Charles Dickens—
The mysterious thing about “treasures of the heart” is that they are “countless—boundless, self-renewing, inexhaustible. When we love and are loved, trust and are trusted, this reciprocal relationship gives us and those who love and trust us a literally endless wealth. Only when the relationship is one-sided do we feel drained by our commitments. Love that is based on mutual understanding and respect will never drain us of our resources; our fund of love is replenished even as it flows out of us,
as though the act of loving generates more love. Fear can impede this miraculous process. In general, we have to know ourselves pretty well and be quite secure in our own skins before we can make to someone else the glad and unconditional gift of ourselves. Love entails risk—the risk of being completely open, and completely self-forgetful. But all success involves risk; and in this case the rewards are the greatest possible. I will not let fear keep me from the treasures of the heart.