The Heart, the Woman: Finances, Education, Healthcare

Mother and Child

This weekend we are celebrating Mother’s Day. But what is a mother? Mothers are wonderful creatures. We love them; we cherish them; we depend on them. Are mothers somewhat from Venus, while fathers are from Mars? Not really, but to understand this, we go “back to the body.” That is why, since December 2012, I have been writing on this blog to introduce the “Back-to-the-Body Perspective.” “The truth is within you,” says the ancient wisdom; and it is within the body that we will find solutions for the riddles and problems of life. This article is a tribute to mothers on this Mother’s Day weekend, and also a description of the role associated with mothers in the family and in society.

The Body and the Family

The human body is a paradigm.

The body is a paradigm and model for every type of organization. How is the body organized?

In the body, we have three areas: first, we have an area below the diaphragm, which we designate by the metonymy “stomach.” In contrast, the area above the diaphragm and below the head we designate as “heart.” Finally, we have an “executive center,” which is the brain with its associated nervous systems.

Every person, then, has all three parts. Every man and every woman has the capacity of playing the role of stomach, brain, or heart. But when we build a marriage relationship, the role of “stomach” is usually associated with the man; the role of “heart” is usually associated with the woman; and the children have the role of “brain,” which the parents mold through love, care, and education.

The Mother, the Heart

The shape of the heart

The function of “heart” within the body is well known, though I believe there is  much more to learn. But the function of “heart” in the family or in society is not well known. The reason, in part, is our cultural bias toward the brain and anything having to do with the brain. We humans tend to believe that all the value of a human being resides in the brain, and the other parts of the body are basically just “helpers” for the brain. But I believe that–especially in our twenty-first century–we humans are discovering the “heart.” In fact, I believe we are living in the “age of the heart.” But who plays the role of heart in the family and in society?

Both men and women have the three parts of stomach/brain/heart; hence, either man or woman can play the role of heart. But typically, the role of heart belongs to the woman, and the role of stomach belongs to the man. But these roles are intertwined and interwoven in a complex mosaic of evolving and ever-changing dynamics. Hence, if you examine the interactions of a thousand couples, I am willing to bet that each one of those couples will have something unique and distinctive. That is because, in each case, both the man and the woman are working out their relationship in a mosaic of interactions.

Finances, Education, Healthcare

Mare and Foal

Since this is Mother’s Day weekend, I have been focusing on the role of mothers and the role of the heart. Here’s where the “heart paradigm” can be helpful, because we can learn about mothers just by observing what the heart does in the human body. As I see it, the heart performs three functions in the human body: first, it distributes the wealth of the body in the form of blood filled with nutrients and oxygen. Next, the heart is responsible for educating the body, and it does this through feelings and sentiments. Finally, the heart is responsible for the repair and healing of the body.

Thus, the functions of the heart are the distribution of wealth (finance); the education of the body; and the healing of the body (healthcare). We turn to mothers for financial issues, for educational issues, and for healthcare issues.

That is why I love to hear people’s stories about their moms. We all remember those magical moments, those turning points—when mothers were there with a healing touch, a ray of light in the darkness, a solution, a suggestion, a word of comfort.

To all mothers in all corners of the earth, we love you! Happy Mother’s Day!

Paulo-Juarez Pereira
Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
May 9, 2015 — Mother’s Day Weekend

Photo Credits:

Photo: Mother and Child; Author: Cliff; Source: http://bit.ly/1EWPWMc; Creative Commons License: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).

Photo: The human body; Author: kris krüg; Source: http://bit.ly/1AMqqWg; Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Photo: The shape of the heart. Author: Pandiyan V; Source: http://bit.ly/1FVlXq8; Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0).

Photo: Mare and Foal; Author: smerikal; Source: http://bit.ly/1FbwfDC; Creative Commons License: Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0).