Ancient Egyptians had a tradition that said that when you died, before you were ushered into the afterlife, you heart would be placed on a scale. There your heart would be measured against the feather of truth and justice from the goddess Ma’at. If your heart weighed more and the scaled tipped in the wrong direction then it would not go well for you in the afterlife. Actually, I think your heavy heart would actually be consumed by a crocodile headed god and your soul would cease to exist. Ouch that is harsh. Maintaining order in a sea of chaos we pretty darn important in the early days of human history, for certain.
However, this got me to thinking about having a light heart. Not a heart prone to frivolity, but a heart free from guilt and removed from deceit. When you are upfront, truthful and pay your debts then you do have a light heart indeed. One that is capable of being free from the ties that might bind it down. Perhaps there is a lot of wisdom to this ancient Egyptian concept. If we live our life with light heartedness maybe we would then be ready to move on to the next life, rather than be burdened down with so much weight.
Guy Reams
