The human heart. A mere fist shaped, 300 or so gram vital organ that sits smack dab in the middle of our mediastinum. Yes yes everyone knows that it is that pump that helps transport blood throughout our entire anatomical system. However, speaking in a more deeper & philosophical level, the heart has been popularly named the "seat of emotions", symbolizing love & happiness. It could feel the highest possible levels of happiness, joy, & love...& on the darker side, it could exhibit emotions of anger, hate, envy, & jealousy. Could it get to the point where the heart loves TOO much & cares TOO much, giving it a false hope & dooming it to heartbreak & pain, leaving the person filled with anger, insecurity, & jealousy? oh yes. Most definitely. For those that have experienced it, sometimes their loving heart gives them the most pain. And I'm not talking about heartburn.
I'm currently reading the novel "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" by Mary Roach. It's an amazing read exploring the world of the dead & how the use & experimentation on cadavers has revolutionized medicine & science. It's a bit morbid, but great. Thinking about death, I don't want to leave this earth being known as the person that loved TOO much or the guy that cared TOO much to the point of falling for false hope, ultimately resulting in pain & turning into this heartless, bitter person that lost hope. How can that happen to me? I've always been known as the "nice guy" or the "caring friend", the "sweet talker" or the so-called "romantic". Trust me, I love my heart for what it is & for what it has taught me (I AM concentrating in Cardiothoracic Surgery after all)...how to love, how to care, & how to be happy. But I wish it wasn't crushed so many times. It beats so much for so many, yet sometimes, it doesn't do what it should do: feel. Emotions of anger, bitterness, insecurity, & jealousy tend to take over & blind my heart of what it really & truly is. I don't want to leave my cadaver one day with an empty, bitter, angry, non-emotional rock in the mediastinum, metaphorically speaking. I want to leave this earth one day with a heart full of happiness & love & joy & the feeling of being whole & complete with people to love me just as much back. And of course, that special someone that loves ME for ME, & takes my heart for what it is.
Our hearts are truly a gift from God & are a living thing all on its own. I take care of my heart as much as possible, both medically & emotionally. It has gone through so much, yet it still beats.
They say the brain is more important than the heart...which is arguable. But what happens if the brain has no blood flow? Medically, it'll have an infarction, become necrotic & die, eventually swelling from the lack of oxygen & seep through the foramen magnum. And what of the heart without the brain? yes the vagus nerve has ceased to exist, but it still beats on. It's autorhythmicity & independence is miraculous. That's why I love medicine. That's why I love Cardiology. Take care of the heart. Live with the pain & heartache it will endure. It's an unbearable pain, but soon enough, hopefully, that pain will ease & the heart will experience true & complete love & happiness & feel whole.
The most beautiful sound in the world is a heartbeat. Those lub-dubs are the sounds of a miracle...life.
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." ~ Hellen Keller
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