Love burdens itself with a whole lot of things – from the (yes, perhaps I could admit a little) truly important to the out rightly insane. For such a small word, love has come to mean the universe for some people, and yet, absolutely nothing for others.
I fall in the in-between.
People say love reside in the heart, and that the heart is the one part of the human body that is capable of loving, of understanding what it meant to love and be loved. They say it is where the human soul rests, and that it is the greatest gift one can possibly offer to another. By giving one’s heart away, one is giving out love.
An anatomist would disagree. There is nothing in the heart that can closely, even remotely, be capable of loving. It is simply a muscle, an organic pump that brings blood to where it is needed most to stay alive. To demystify it further, the heart has no other function other than that. There are no chemical processes that allow it to understand love, much less to give it away.
So why all the fuss about the heart? It is the heart that beats, signifying that the body is still alive. It is the one that aches when we feel something bad, or lonely, or sad. It is also the one that comes alive with excitement over some cute guy or a lovely girl. It is the one that pumps blood into our faces when we blush. It is also the one that doesn’t pump blood enough when we faint. It is the refuge of emotions that the brain cannot process with all the reason and logic it was programmed to do. The brain is much like a computer, processing information by standard logic, maybe a little arithmetic, and a lot of the man-made reasons. But like all equations, there are difficulties, and sometimes-undefined results. These are the emotions brought about by infatuation, anxiety, or longing for someone. And it is the heart that gets blamed for all these emotions.
Love is not logic. Love is not reason. It is for these reasons that love sometimes is not welcome in our minds. The brain cannot process the chemical reactions that produce love. That is why as an outcast, it needs to find a different venue for expressing itself. And love chose the heart.
The heart as a home of love is an idiom, one that is collecting dust. We do not, cannot, and perhaps even with a million years of evolution, will not think with our hearts.
“mind over heart. but in truth, you sometimes allow yourself to lead with your heart.” A friend once wrote of these wisdom-filled words. She could have changed the last word. We oftentimes allow ourselves to be led by LOVE.
I fall in the in-between.
People say love reside in the heart, and that the heart is the one part of the human body that is capable of loving, of understanding what it meant to love and be loved. They say it is where the human soul rests, and that it is the greatest gift one can possibly offer to another. By giving one’s heart away, one is giving out love.
An anatomist would disagree. There is nothing in the heart that can closely, even remotely, be capable of loving. It is simply a muscle, an organic pump that brings blood to where it is needed most to stay alive. To demystify it further, the heart has no other function other than that. There are no chemical processes that allow it to understand love, much less to give it away.
So why all the fuss about the heart? It is the heart that beats, signifying that the body is still alive. It is the one that aches when we feel something bad, or lonely, or sad. It is also the one that comes alive with excitement over some cute guy or a lovely girl. It is the one that pumps blood into our faces when we blush. It is also the one that doesn’t pump blood enough when we faint. It is the refuge of emotions that the brain cannot process with all the reason and logic it was programmed to do. The brain is much like a computer, processing information by standard logic, maybe a little arithmetic, and a lot of the man-made reasons. But like all equations, there are difficulties, and sometimes-undefined results. These are the emotions brought about by infatuation, anxiety, or longing for someone. And it is the heart that gets blamed for all these emotions.
Love is not logic. Love is not reason. It is for these reasons that love sometimes is not welcome in our minds. The brain cannot process the chemical reactions that produce love. That is why as an outcast, it needs to find a different venue for expressing itself. And love chose the heart.
The heart as a home of love is an idiom, one that is collecting dust. We do not, cannot, and perhaps even with a million years of evolution, will not think with our hearts.
“mind over heart. but in truth, you sometimes allow yourself to lead with your heart.” A friend once wrote of these wisdom-filled words. She could have changed the last word. We oftentimes allow ourselves to be led by LOVE.
1 comment:
:)
lupeeeet! :D
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