What makes LOVE flow into the Heart?? Pondering this on Valentines Day…We all know that Love is an emotion that is couched in our minds, from brain chemicals, people, memories, touches, visions and stories. We know it effects our actions and we link it to our behaviors, even when we may or may not feel it. We are told Love doesn’t emanate from the Heart but we feel our hearts flutter with a romance and drop when our heart is broken. We know Love doesn’t “live” in the Heart but we still keep it close to our hearts. And we know stories of people who died from a broken heart. We know the Heart is the symbol of Love and we use it readily, especially in February.

But what is the Heart basically? If you examine the diagram you can see it’s a marvelously designed organ regulated by electrical impulses that are critical for survival. The Heart has four compartments with ingress (enter) and egress (exit) and valves that control blood volume to thump, thump, thump through our body. The Heart is greatly influenced by emotions and, Yes, through exercise and emotional ups and downs, more blood runs on the roads to the Heart. The blood from our body travels into the upper chamber of the heart from the vena cava, to the right atrium, then to the right ventricle and up to the lungs via the pulmonary artery, which then sends back oxygen rich blood from the pulmonary vein to the left atrium to fill up the left ventricle, allowing the pumping of Oxygen rich blood back to the body via the Aorta….Whew!!  And it does this on average, about sixty to 80 times a minute!! But is it Love?

What about emotions? What about Love in the Heart? Isn’t that where it all resides?? How do we increase that??

We are told in poems and great literature how Love is the key to everything. It’s forgiveness; it’s marriage; it’s partnering; it’s parenting; it’s brotherly, sisterly, friendly and, the greatest of all commandments is to Love one another. And we keep saying that to each other over and over, especially on social media. We post beautiful pictures, memes and messages reminding each other to Love unconditionally and wholeheartedly. But deep down we realize that usually we are actually, really talking to ourselves because, sometimes, sadly, we don’t always feel it, give it or receive it.

Why? Well perhaps it’s because of that ingress (entering) and egress (exiting) thing in the Heart. Are we letting in enough love-blood? Or, sometimes is too much blood poured into the Heart and it becomes overloaded, like someone with congestive heart failure? Some folks may actually feel entitled to always receive. And some people only “take” Love and don’t give any away and thus they can’t remain healthy. Also, the reverse is true, sometimes the blood only pumps out to others, thus the person who is only a “giver”, bleeds out. The giver becomes a martyr, is depleted, exhausted, non-nourished in their own Heart and can’t remain healthy. We see this often in relationships and families and the imbalance can destroy both the Heart or the Love…

This Valentines Day, which is the calendar day promoted to tell others how much you Love them, show some balance. Don’t go overboard to others and don’t slight yourselves either. If alone, do something fun you like…walk in the park, go to a happy movie or an ice cream parlor! Try showing some Love to someone who may be forgotten or neglected in this crazy world, even if its’ you!  Buy some flowers and put them on your own table or hand them out at the grocery store, nursing home, to parking attendants, mail carriers or Ushers at your Church. Put a bag of groceries or magazines on a lone neighbors’ porch. Make some Valentine cards like you did as a kid and put them on car windows. Spread some joy from your own Heart but not so much that you are depleted. Go slow on the egress…and stay balanced with your Heart Love…then take a bubble bath, eat some chocolates, say some prayers, read a book and snuggle or sleep. You deserve it…God loves You!

If you’re feeling lonely or in Grief with Family Love or Family Estrangement, read about the issues in : “Recovery room: Surviving Family Estrangement” on Amazon.com