The Most Beautiful Heart

One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he

had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley.A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There 

The Most Beautiful Heart

was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most
beautiful heart they had ever seen.

The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.

Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said, “Why your

heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine.”

The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s heart. It was beating

strongly ... but full of scars. It had places where pieces had been removed and

other pieces put in ... but they didn’t fit quite right and there were several
jagged edges.

In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.

The people starred ... how could he say his heart is more beautiful, they thought?

The young man looked at the old man’s heart and saw its state and laughed.

“You must be joking,” he said. “Compare your heart with mine ... mine is perfect
and yours is a mess of scars and tears.”

“Yes,” said the old man, “Yours is perfect looking ... but I would never trade with

you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love..... I 

tear out a piece of my heart and

give it to them ... and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into

the empty place in my heart ... but because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some

rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared.

Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away ... and the other person hasn’t

returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges ... giving love is

taking a chance. Although these

gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these

people too ... and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have 

waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?”

The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to

the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece

out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands.

The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his

old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart. It fit.... 

but not perfectly, as there were

some jagged edges.

The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his. They embraced and

walked away side by side.

Physical perfection is not always beautiful.