I equate listening to your heart with following your instinct, and my mama always told me, to follow my gut instinct as it can never fail me. And I have found it to be true.

For whenever I ignore my gut instinct on issues, I always tend to regret it, but thankfully those instances haven't been very serious or profoundly affecting ones. Rather there have been very profound case where I have followed my gut instinct and been saved from very serious situations and consequences.

So my advice to anyone is always to listen to your heart as the song says. It will serve you well. Mine have always served me well.

By the way I love, love that song and it was what immediately came to my head and was going to post it when I saw the title of your piece before I read it and saw you've posted it already. Ta for it

Nice one EMJ !

Please tell your friend to always know that every anus has shit inside it. Meaning that no human being is perfect or has the rights to treat another person badly or to hurt them like she has serially been going through at the hands of men in her life.

Tell her that it is never late at all, or doors for romance and meaningful relationship to be closed. There goes a saying that when one wakes up, then it becomes their day break. Many people find true love and the chosen one for them much later on in life after going through so many upheavals. Then appears the right one and a life mate for them at the end of the day.

But she must not continue to make that mistake of allowing herself to be abused by a man again in her life. Staring from the very first day she meets the man, she must not present herself as a woman that it is alright to be mistreated or abused. Because human beings are among the most instinctive animals who will eat or tear apart any weak among them or another thing that becomes like a prey to them.

I pray that she will be happy in love and let God Almighty bring into her life the chosen one for her to fill that thing which is missing, that space was not destined to be missing or lacking in her life.
Amen !

You should listen to your head. It is the logical part of your body. To listening to your heart and hoping things will get better in an already bad relationship never works. Also in order to make better choices and date smartly moving forward after a bad relationship you need to use your head not your heart.

Yes to laraba's advice of dating smartly. The head might be the logical part of the body but in some instance messes things up through over processing.......there's nothing wrong with using one's head, the heart is also important as it pumps the blood which flows to all the part of the body to keep the head active.

@ Lady Val-T, The heart is the emotional part of our body..Listening to one's heart is different from instinct or gut feeling when it comes to relationship issues.(am still locked in a debate about the distinction with olabisi..lols)
We at times get flighty in our thought and fail to see all the warning signs. Basic instinct which some call gut feeling work for most and not for some depending on thier values and how they are wired.

@M Akosa,
Thanks for the advice to Olabisi. She's learnt her lesson and i will say is a very lucky lady.

Btw marriage is desirable but not for everyone.
Not all women desire companionship nor need a man to be complete. It is society that has placed a lot of value on a man and woman being together or be joined in a union.

It is very easy for a woman to be celibate and have no need nor use for a man or men in her life.

The debate still continues about one listening to one's heart, using their head etc etc and so on and so forth.

Anyway.....

Interesting...
No cookie-cutter solutions, yet.

Merry Christmas!