I like cool numerical facts, the magical numbers that underpin the universe, and one I stumbled across while training for a Sanitas time trial is the vertical climb rate you achieve at various heart rates. Just writing down the numbers a strange correlation jumped out, and it calculates out to four inches. That's the height through which my heart can lift me, 4" with every stroke. There are ~73 ml pumped per beat (a standard number) and somewhere between 45 and 80 ml/kg/min O2 transported. That's the VO2 max statistic you sometimes hear: and what a huge variation. Isn't the heart number a neat statistic though? Maybe with some extra work, if I try really hard, my heart can grow strong enough to lift me an extra inch with each beat. Of course it's not all and only about your heart, and yet...
"What a wonderful machine," I thought, and wondered what could do for my heart in return. That led me next to the obvious metaphor between your heart and love, and joy. Something my heart would like, eh? ...and thence quickly to the idea that try as I may, I cannot lift my own heart.
For that, you need someone else.
