The Human Heart
"Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."
(C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves)
Recently I have been thinking a lot about the human heart. My grandmother, whom I love more than anything in this world, is about to undergo a heart procedure in hopes of finding more energy and vigor. For her, and all of us, the heart literally represents life. It is because of the heart that oxygen and nutrients can reach all of the essential parts of the body. When the heart stops beating, we die.
Just like the heart is the center of physical life, it has also taken on an essential symbolic role in the description of feelings, hopes and dreams. As we approach Valentine's Day, a day dedicated to romantic love, the symbolic heart comes to represent the human need for companionship. As we learn in a wonderful Disney song, "A dream is a wish your heart makes." As hearts connect, the natures of male and female complete and perfect one another. That is why I feel so wonderful when I am in love. My entire being feels more complete and hopeful. My life is filled with light, and my utmost goal becomes the happiness of the one whom I love. What a wonderful way to feel!
Yet more than just a source of romantic love, the heart also symbolically represents the spiritual essence of humanity. Compassion flows from the heart when we reach outside ourselves. We determine right and wrong by looking to our conscience which flows from the heart. We often look to our heart in order to be able to make correct decisions. Sorrow or understanding often break our hearts which can facilitate a change of heart. When we engage in sincere conversation we are having a heart to heart. When we pray, it can be said that we pour out our hearts to God.
This muscular pump that beats inside our chests is essential to life--whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual life. Do we appreciate this wonder of creation that helps us to stand? The heart both physically and symbolically exemplifies the humanity within each one of us. Reach out with your heart to someone today. In doing so, you will make yourself vulnerable, but you may also find the great joy. It's a risk worth taking.
posted by Joel @ 11:00 PM
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