He hasn't stolen my heart. I gave it to him.

A friend of mine was talking to me about how her current boyfriend had stolen her heart. Immediately, I burst into laughter. She quickly socked my left arm and shot me a disappointed glare. I apologized and asked her to continue with her heart-felt feelings for her love interest.
Somehow I was able to auto pilot active listening whilst delving into my own thoughts and feelings for the one in my life. 
I knew without a doubt that he did not steal my heart. From what I understand, stealing is the act of taking the property of another without permission or right, especially secretly, or by force. In fact, it is quite the contrary with him: He showed me that I still had a heart. He showed me that it still had a powerful beat.  He held my heart in front of me while my eyes were wide open. He wouldn't let me look away when he triggered my epiphany. He then taught me to rejoice over the understanding of my disposition. Once I gained control over my restless heart, I gave it to him with knowledge and enthusiasm. 
With the love I have now, I gave my heart on my own terms. I took my time. I thought logically about who it was going to, and so far I have made the best decision for my heart. To be honest, giving someone your heart is a large part of what love is. Trust, faith, joy, experimentation, awareness, and passion are strong parts as well. Having your heart stolen is almost a guarantee that either you will subconsciously take your heart back, or you will fall out of love since you weren't fully aware that you were in love in the first place. That is just my point of view. 
So next time you say (or you hear someone else say), "someone has stolen my heart", make sure you really know what that means.