THE THINGS WE ASK THE HEART TO CARRY

(A prose piece for World Heart Day)

We speak about the heart as though it only knows how to beat.

But the heart carries more than blood.

We ask it to carry grief without breaking. Love without becoming foolish. Fear without becoming weak. Disappointment without becoming bitter. We ask it to keep going through things we sometimes don't even have the courage to name.

And yet, for all the poetry we give the heart, we sometimes forget that it is also an organ that needs our care.

We remember it when something goes wrong.

We remember the importance of movement after we have spent years being inactive. We remember what we eat after the doctor tells us to be careful. We remember our blood pressure when the numbers become frightening. We remember that smoking, excessive alcohol use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and other risk factors can quietly increase the burden placed on our cardiovascular health.

Perhaps caring for the heart should begin before it has to ask for our attention.

A healthier life does not always require extraordinary things. Sometimes it begins with walking more often. Eating more thoughtfully. Avoiding tobacco. Keeping alcohol within safer limits. Managing conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Going for health checks. Sleeping well. Finding healthier ways to live with stress.

Small choices are still choices.

And small choices, repeated long enough, can become a life.

But there is another heart we should remember.

The one that has been hurt.

The one that has been disappointed.

The one that has spent too long pretending to be fine.

Emotional pain does not replace physical heart health, and neither should be romanticised. But our emotional lives matter too. The way we live, cope, rest and connect with other people can influence how we care for ourselves.

So perhaps World Heart Day is an invitation to ask a simple question:

How am I treating the heart that has carried me this far?

Am I giving it movement?

Am I giving it nourishment?

Am I giving it rest?

Am I paying attention when my body tells me something is wrong?

And am I also giving myself permission to heal from the things that have made life heavy?or 

We are often very good at caring for everyone else.

We remember appointments for our children. We remind our parents to take their medication. We worry about our partners. We check on friends.

And somewhere between caring for everybody and keeping life moving, we forget that we are somebody too.

The heart does not ask for perfection.

It asks for care.

It asks us to notice.

To choose differently where we can.

To seek help when something doesn't feel right.

And perhaps, above all, to understand that the life we are trying so hard to build is worth protecting.

Because the heart has been with us from the beginning.

Through every goodbye.

Every celebration.

Every heartbreak.

Every unexpected morning.

It has kept time for us without ever asking whether we deserved another day.

Maybe it is time we returned the favour.