My mom was a faithful sender of valentines, and I found myself really missing her this past Valentine’s Day. It was as good an excuse as any to eat chocolate hearts with my coffee. Later, I indulged in several pastel-colored conversation hearts, stopping to read only a few of the special messages imprinted on them: QT PIE, TEXT ME, MISS YOU.
Consumed with all things heart, I googled how many times heart is used as a metaphor and found this stat in the European Heart Journal: The Oxford English Dictionary has an entry of 15,000 words for the word heart, most of which relate to its use as a metaphor for emotional states, reasoning and other meanings such as the centre of places and things or the central point in an argument. (“The Heart, a Constant and Universal Metaphor” by Desmond Sheridan, MD, PhD)
The heart is queen of metonymy and metaphor. It can be warm like a hearth or cold and hard like a stone. Within lies the hallowed space we retreat to for grounding and renewal. We cross it, hope to die, and swear all manner of promises on it. The heart swells, it overflows, it is still, empty, lost or seeking. It is the sacred vessel in which we carry the ones we love. Resilient and valiant, no matter how battered, it will put itself out there again and again, often against our mind’s objections. Oh silly, brave, precious heart, we are nothing without you.
Endlessly wondrous, in a day, the average heart beats 100,000 times and pumps an astounding 1,500 to 2,000 gallons of blood. One heart transplant patient claims she recovered to find herself craving beer and chicken nuggets, and later discovered they had been pleasures of her young male donor. A pediatric surgeon told me the mother of one of his patient’s worried about her son’s soul during surgery, so clear was she that the heart was its habitat.
The head sits above the heart and far too often takes the lead putting our better judgment in peril, obscuring our higher selves. What if egos literally had to be checked at the door like coats at a restaurant, and we were forced to lead with our hearts? Would we then lay down our swords? Would we all win the day? Would it matter?
What I know is that if the heart is not at the table, I’m not interested in the conversation. DREAM BIG, PEACE, LOVE YOU.
Divine Ready 
Jan, I absolutely ♥️ this! Your words are so brilliant and flow so beautifully taking my mind into your vision and really pulling me in to your narrative. It’s always a wonderful adventure. Thank you for sharing and taking the simplest of subjects and turning it into a magnificent blessing.
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Thank you, dear you!
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I love this, Jan. I love your question about ‘what if egos had to be literally checked at the door, like coats?’ I have to think the world would be a better place. Also, didn’t know the stats about the number of times the heart beats and the amount of blood it pumps. Just incredible! Love your poetic musings about the heart, and all the references to it in the reference book. Yay to our hearts, soldiering on even when things are darkest. Well done! Beth
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Thank you, Beth. oxj
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