February 14th, 2010 | 3 comments | Unfiltered

So everyone and their mom is posting the obligatory Valentine’s Day post. I took a look through my archives and I didn’t write last year, so I don’t really have anything to go off of in terms of “well, you know, last year I did X, Y and Z.” So, instead, you get this jumbled mess of ADD thoughts about the heart – and why the heart is the organ associated with this thing we call love.

Why is it that we associate the heart with love and a whole slew of emotions? Let’s face it, if I said “Hey, Mr. Right, I love you so much my kidneys hurt when I think of you” it wouldn’t carry the same weight. And you’d probably think I have a serious disease. Or that I’m delusional. Or maybe both. Regardless, I can’t help but wonder how we grew to associate love with the heart, of all organs.

And it’s not just that we associate love with the heart. When we’re unsure, we tell ourselves “my mind says no but my heart says yes,” or something along the lines of, “I should really go with my gut on this one, my heart must be confused.”

How does this happen? Why do we do this?

I mean, I’m totally on board with the heart/love association. I’m guilty. I have actually felt love tug at my “heartstrings.” I have felt the butterflies, I’ve done that whole physical-reaction-to-an-emotional-connection thing. But is it really my heartstrings? Technically, no. “Butterflies” that you actually feel are nothing more than a nervous reaction that happens in your stomach, something about the lining or something. Google it. You’ll see what I’m talking about.

And what about a broken heart? How many times after a breakup have you heard (or have you said) “I lost a piece of me. A piece of my heart is missing.” Again, whoever dreamed up associating love with the heart is brilliant.

Whoever drew the first heart, on the other hand, is a moron. Pick up any anatomy book and you’ll see that the illustrations of the heart look like a fist, not the thing that we’ve crafted to doodle all over our notebooks and magna-doodles.

I’m not saying I’d change it, I’m just curious as to how this came to be. I mean, it is so engrained in how we process what love is. Take a gander at some of these love/heart/happiness reaction-type things and tell me you don’t wonder how this all came around.

1. The heart pumps blood to the ENTIRE BODY. It’s only natural that we associate the heart with love – because the good kind of love, the stuff worth writing home about, that stuff sticks with you. It is all-consuming, it fills you up.
2. Personally, my heart actually beats faster when I feel loved, or when I have love to give. I’m almost certain that my actual pulse increases. If not, it sure does feel like it. And I’m pretty sure this is where the literal application of what butterflies actually are comes into play. A nervous reaction. Well, I’ll take it. Thank you.
3. The science of love. Maybe it’s legit. Take a look at this:

Really, that’s all I got.

But, I will say, I just bought into the whole heart/love association. And I’m not apologizing.

You’re welcome for the ADD-riddled post.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Tags: 28 Day Blogging Challenge