Pulling at My Heartstrings

Molly writes:

Does the Zentangle Method tug at our heartstrings?

The heart is a universal symbol. It transcends most all human languages. It seems to be a recognizable symbol we learn from very early age. The heart of course is full of love. It’s both gentle and powerful. It’s warm and nurturing. Its simple and expressive.

As a symbol it represents a part of the human soul. The part that fuels courage, enthusiasm, feelings, inclinations, passion, emotions, and more. Our hearts guide us to feel the things that are not physical. The word heart is also used to describe the central part of any system or the most essential part of something. We often use it to describe the most vital part of the object or group. The thing that keeps something operating or living. If you think about it, might there be a direct connection between loving and living. Do they, perhaps, need the other to survive? No matter how you look at it, the heart plays a very important role in our world.

In our very modern technology filled world we use hearts to communicate positive feelings toward someone or something. The red heart emoji is consistently one of the most used emojis in the world. The act of manually filling a heart is how we have come to share that we like or love something on many social media platforms.

One of the things I love about the Zentangle method is the community it attracts. It is by far one of the most loving groups of humans I have ever encountered. It is beyond magical to see the amazing things that happen at Zentangle classes and events. I get emotional every time I witness something beautiful or hear a new story. Our Zentangle community is supportive, nurturing, inspiring, caring, loving, and full of heart.

I regularly visit the Zentangle Mosiac App. It is a happy place for me to see amazing Zentangle art, but my favorite part about it is reading all the comments and exchanges back and forth between artists. Every word is thoughtful and full of love. The same goes on this blog and every Zentangle class I have ever been to. There is just simply no space for negativity or criticism. I find it magical how we never made that a request on the app but instead it happened naturally. Within the practice of Zentangle we learn the power of love. A Zentangle practice encourages us see the love in ourselves, our art, and other’s art just as we would in all humankind.

When I sat down to write something about heart this Valentine’s Day, I had a bit of writer’s block, so decided to tangle a bit first. I thought, why not start with a simple heart string. Not too long after the pen hit the tile did my thoughts start racing. Heartstrings, I pondered. That’s it. “To tug at one’s heartstrings,” is an idiom that Merriam Webster’s defines as: to stir one’s emotions. Heartstring itself is first defined as an actual physical nerve once thought to be attached to the human heart, but then also defined as: the deepest emotions or affections. I cannot speak for everyone, but I think perhaps that Zentangle does pull at our heartstrings.

So, if you’re up for it. Create tile with a heartstring and share the love with us using #heartstring. We would love to see it.

If you have a heart filled Zentangle story you would like to share with us please do so in the comments below. We will send a heart filled gift to one contributor, randomly chosen.