|Scan of a Valentine greeting card dated 1909. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)|
The heart as a symbol for love is one of the most recognizable of all symbols. The red heart shape that we in the Western Hemisphere so often associate with the romantic celebration of Valentines Day has come to represent love and romance.
Why the heart? Anatomically speaking an actual heart may not appear so romantic, but it is the human center of the body and that vital organ that feeds the lifeblood to the body. Without the heart we are dead.
When we love in the fullest embodiment of the emotion, our love seems to radiate from our center. There is a warmth within that appears to come from the heart. Love is not a rational emotion that is comes from the mind, though the mind devises the ways to love and to reach those for whom we feel love. Love is from the heart and love warms the heart.
And when love is broken, the heart feels broken. We may feel that wrenching pain deep within us that may even make us feel sick or as though we want to die. The mind often tries to understand and reason away the loss of love, but the heart pines and mourns and feels empty until the healing comes.
In love or loss the heart beats on and life lingers. The heart is the center of us and the yearning for love is at the center of everything.
What has been your greatest heartache? Your greatest heartbreak? Can love make you healthier?