The Heart: Shield or Cuff-link?

The heart. An organ inside many living beings that, while it differentiates within all creatures by its size and defects, does the same vital job that keeps us going. It is a powerful organ as it never stops beating throughout the entirety of our lives. And interestingly enough, it is myogenic, which means that its contractions are initiated by something called a myocyte cell which is found inside the heart as opposed to external nervous stimulation. These few descriptions of the heart represent the ideal things we look for in love. Something that binds all creatures with the ability of love to do so,despite the amount of love that they can give and their faults. A love that will never cease until we no longer cease to be. And a love that is brought out from within us, rather than spurred by external interference.

Unfortunately like some hearts, love can be broken and sometimes cannot be repaired. And unlike using artificial heart pieces (which if you need, I would say go ahead because life is always worth living), you can try to fake the part of love you have lost but it will never feel the same. At this point, you may even consider giving up on being in love all together or at least with the person you are currently in love with and may even wonder why you put yourself in this situation in the first place. This is the itinerary for this essay today.

Now, let's take a look at the advantages of closing your heart up from anyone.

1) When you close your heart up to loving anyone else, you open it up to loving yourself. It sounds selfish but is a rather good survival technique. If you put yourself first, in most situations you are guaranteed to survive. According to research, being slightly narcissistic is beneficial as you develop a positive self-image, a better attitude towards life and a deeper understanding of your needs and desires.

2) Closing up your heart to others can make you more emotionally resilient. Have you ever needed to support a friend or family member through a tough time? If so, have you ever noticed that if you become genuinely concerned about their problems, you become sad as well? That is because you have given them love and thereby established a connection on an emotional level. I'm not saying that feeling sorry for people or having genuine empathy for them is a bad thing but if this kind of situation happens often enough, you find that it will have a detrimental effect on your well-being.

3)Being single or just not being too attached to your significant other allows you to be independent. It allows you the freedom to do your own thing. And this might actually improve your relationship because,as they say,distance makes the heart grow fonder. Besides, how attractive can it be for any man or woman to constantly cling on to their boyfriend/girlfriend? They may give you love but they are not your actual heart and you will not die if you do something without them.

And know, the flip side. Wearing your heart on your sleeve.

1) Being emotionally open allows you to empathise with other people around you and allows you to connect with them better. Want to improve your relationship with your significant other? Talk to them about their lives, their dreams, anything that's going on in their lives. Want a raise or better job? Talk to your boss and get on better terms with him. All the while, you may feel emotionally vulnerable, but so are they. That's a good thing.

2)Giving out love feels good and you never know what you'll get back. Maybe one day you are being really nice to a co-worker that you don't usually associate with frequently and you get invited to a party and have fun. Maybe you do some volunteer work in your spare time and are recognised for it in your local newspaper. Maybe you just help an elderly person carry her shopping home and she gives you a short but sweet thank you. No matter what you get back, if anything, you know at the end of the day you did a good thing. Besides, it is better than having an unproductive day.

3)Being emotionally vulnerable proves that you can feel your emotions and are not afraid to do so. Bad things happen and you can either hide away because you are 'afraid to be hurt again' or face the problems and emotions head on. No one should expect you to be perfect because no one is. Everyone has bad days but that is a good thing because do you know what? Having bad days sometimes makes the good days feel like great days.

So those are my balanced out points for whether you should use your heart as a shield or a cuff-link. Please note that these are just perspectives and not instructions on how to live your life.