Systole and Diastole
Systole. Diastole. Contraction. Expansion. Repeat. This cycle of life powers our beings. The heartbeat comprises two sounds: S1 and S2. Electrical cells in the heart muscle fire, causing the heart muscle to squeeze itself, ejecting the blood to throughout the body, facilitating the perfusion of all tissues and organs. This force makes the first sound of the heartbeat—S1. The heart muscles relaxes to perfuse itself—the four chambers of the heart fill. When the valves close they make the second sound of the heartbeat—S2. A shortened diastole means the heart receives less perfusion. A weak ejection means the heart becomes congested and the body, inadequately perfused and oxygen starved.
Life requires balance to sustain itself. Nature gravitates toward balance—homeostasis. Everything in nature cycles—this is the blueprint of God. We forget, in the dimly lit chamber of our humanness, that the seen world exists as but a reflection of the unseen. The heart muscle must contract for life to continue. The uterus must contract in order to birth the fetus. The seed must split itself in order to sprout roots which will sustain and anchor the plant. Suffering is an invitation. Suffering is a door. Touch that invitation, open it. See the door—your wound is the door. Your wound is how the light gets in.
Photo by Arjun Kapoor on Unsplash