One day a young man, standing in the middle of the town, proclaimed that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and admired his heart. There was not a flaw in it. Yes, they agreed that it truly the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. Suddenly an old man appeared and said, "Why, your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine!" All of them looked at his heart. It was beating strongly, but it was full of scars. It had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't quite fit right and there were several jagged edges. In some places there were whole pieces missing. The young man laughed. "Compare your heart with mine. Mine is perfect, yours is a mess of scars and tears." "Yes," agreed the old man. "But I'd never trade it with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love. I tear out a piece and give it to them. Often they have given me a piece of ...