Since today is Valentine's Day, I am pondering the heart.
The health of that particular organ has loomed large in my life (actually, the heart in question is my husband's). But since his cardiovascular system seems to be doing well at the moment, I am going to go all metaphorical, and not dwell on his particular fist-sized muscle weighing about 11 ounces.
Phew. There's a romantic phrase for you.
The physical human heart does not resemble the heart symbol, really, or only vaguely; bumpy at the top, kind of pointy at the bottom. Lots of vessels going in and out. Not particularly pretty.
It would not work well on valentines. Just imagine trying to cut out around the aorta, or the vena cava.
So, the symbol.
♥
It is nicely symmetrical. Fold a piece of paper in half, cut out one half with a point on the bottom and a round top, open the paper and voilá.
There is something innately beautiful in the shape; its origins are lost in the mists of time. But for hundreds of years, it has been the icon of romantic love.
Heart-shaped things do appear in nature. Morning glories, for example, have heart-shaped leaves; so do wild violets. Bleeding hearts, or dicentra, those shade-loving perennials, have flowers that look like, well, hearts dripping blood.
Two swans standing nose-to-nose create a heart shape with their necks.
♥
How did the heart become associated with love?
The heart is in the center of the body, more or less, protected by a cage of bone. It must have been clear to the ancients how important it was. Aristotle thought that the heart was the central sense organ through which all of the sensations we receive from our other sense organs, our eyes and fingers and tongues and ears and noses, are rendered comprehensible. It was the seat of the emotions, and rational thought.
♥
Perhaps, 3,000 years or so ago, a young woman met a young man. Perhaps she encountered him in the street, or at a friend's home, or at a temple. Perhaps they spoke, exchanged a few words, and she liked the light in his green eyes when he looked at her, or the way his hair fell over his forehead, or his laugh.
And from then on, whenever she saw this young man, a curious thing happened. Her heart, the fist-sized muscle in the cage of bone, which beat regularly without her awareness, began to pound, hammering against the the bars of the cage so hard that she thought everyone would be able to see it burst out of its prison, and she felt faint.
Perhaps he felt the same way.
It would have been natural to think that the heart is where the emotions are located.
♥
Now, of course, we know more about biology and physiology, and we tend to regard the heart as just a pump, a machine that can be replaced, and repaired. The brain is the organ wherein emotions are conceived, as far as we can tell.
But the images of the heart as emotional core persist, when we speak of heartache, or a broken heart. And studies have apparently shown that bad relationships can damage the physical heart.
♥
So maybe Aristotle was on to something, after all.
I do know that once a year, it is nice to celebrate love, whatever its shape, and wherever it lives.
The health of that particular organ has loomed large in my life (actually, the heart in question is my husband's). But since his cardiovascular system seems to be doing well at the moment, I am going to go all metaphorical, and not dwell on his particular fist-sized muscle weighing about 11 ounces.
Phew. There's a romantic phrase for you.
The physical human heart does not resemble the heart symbol, really, or only vaguely; bumpy at the top, kind of pointy at the bottom. Lots of vessels going in and out. Not particularly pretty.
It would not work well on valentines. Just imagine trying to cut out around the aorta, or the vena cava.
So, the symbol.
♥
It is nicely symmetrical. Fold a piece of paper in half, cut out one half with a point on the bottom and a round top, open the paper and voilá.
There is something innately beautiful in the shape; its origins are lost in the mists of time. But for hundreds of years, it has been the icon of romantic love.
Heart-shaped things do appear in nature. Morning glories, for example, have heart-shaped leaves; so do wild violets. Bleeding hearts, or dicentra, those shade-loving perennials, have flowers that look like, well, hearts dripping blood.
Two swans standing nose-to-nose create a heart shape with their necks.
♥
How did the heart become associated with love?
The heart is in the center of the body, more or less, protected by a cage of bone. It must have been clear to the ancients how important it was. Aristotle thought that the heart was the central sense organ through which all of the sensations we receive from our other sense organs, our eyes and fingers and tongues and ears and noses, are rendered comprehensible. It was the seat of the emotions, and rational thought.
♥
Perhaps, 3,000 years or so ago, a young woman met a young man. Perhaps she encountered him in the street, or at a friend's home, or at a temple. Perhaps they spoke, exchanged a few words, and she liked the light in his green eyes when he looked at her, or the way his hair fell over his forehead, or his laugh.
And from then on, whenever she saw this young man, a curious thing happened. Her heart, the fist-sized muscle in the cage of bone, which beat regularly without her awareness, began to pound, hammering against the the bars of the cage so hard that she thought everyone would be able to see it burst out of its prison, and she felt faint.
Perhaps he felt the same way.
It would have been natural to think that the heart is where the emotions are located.
♥
Now, of course, we know more about biology and physiology, and we tend to regard the heart as just a pump, a machine that can be replaced, and repaired. The brain is the organ wherein emotions are conceived, as far as we can tell.
But the images of the heart as emotional core persist, when we speak of heartache, or a broken heart. And studies have apparently shown that bad relationships can damage the physical heart.
♥
So maybe Aristotle was on to something, after all.
I do know that once a year, it is nice to celebrate love, whatever its shape, and wherever it lives.
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