Chambered Nautilus Ramble

A pondering essay on living life, loving, sparked by a fossil of a Chambered Nautilus

Whilst I am 'being' and doing, my mind ponders many things. Such it was that one morning my thoughts were suddenly of the Chambered Nautilus - partly because my fossilized piece is cut so that one can see all the chambers. Fascinating, those spirals with chambers, my mind was thinking about life, living, growing and love - and how living life is a bit like a Nautilus shell. So, I went to read about these cephalopods. Yes, that is the scientific name for a Chambered Nautilus.

As the Nautilus begins life and grows with four small chambers, it inhabits the largest portion of the chambered shell. It is the only cephalopod which has a bony structure which is the shell. It has nine teeth, no suckers, and tentacles on its head. Like a snail, the Nautilus can withdraw into its shell, but cover the opening with a leathery membrane from its tentacles. The chambers are divided by into spaces called camerae by divisions called septae.

My first thought, was how interesting it is that the Nautilus has all those chambers - but they do not inhabit the ones they have outgrown. They are sealed off as the creature grows.

 

How often do we seal off a portion of our lives or our hearts as we grow forward? In a way I was thinking about the many 'chambers' in the human heart, where we can love so many different ways, and different people. But the analogy with a Nautilus stops short. These are not open chambers that are outgrown. So I had to re-focus my thoughts, for the Nautilus was teaching me something important about living life. Yes, we can love many different people in different ways, but in order to live, there are learning experiences, failures, tragedies that must be sealed off in order to grow. We learn, and if we live, we continue to grow, building the structure of our days with a solid wall to support us - our solid walls are protection but also allow us to venture forth to gain sustenance and experience the life around us. As humans we cannot live in a physical shell, but we can develop our emotional defenses.

The many chambered heart has but one heartbeat, creating energy and pumping life to the mind, body and soul, self-sustaining, yet so important to the intricate balance of the whole. Have you ever noticed that when you love someone that the whole world sparkles a different way? Perhaps it is the sharing of that heartbeat that amplifies the sound of a deep drum in the universe. Perhaps we are the small, throbbing bits that flow through the heart of the Great Tree of Life?

Some people are closed and protective with their hearts, some put many boundaries on love - but.... Love, what is it? An emotional response - yes. Does it demand 'something in return'? - no demand, but a sharing of energy is beneficial to the people involved, IMHO Sex? - yes, sometimes but depends on the type of love. Some people can only relate to romantic love through sexuality. A conscious choice? - I think so, though there are times I 'love' someone for no apparent reason at all. Sometimes the reason for loving is not something I understand, but there is an instant recognition within a tiny moment which links me to someone. There is always a reason, even if we do not understand. I love my family, my friends... If called upon I would defend them with my life. The many chambered heart does not need to have really hard walls - but sometimes, through life experiences, we become hardened and seal ourselves off from the loving flow of energy that renews, rebuilds and creates life. It is a human ability to be able to love, even if it is not always available.

May the river of life and love flow through my heart and veins in the dance of the universe. It is better to dance the dance than sit on a cold and lonely hill doing nothing positive.

Author's Note

This was a bit of a rambling thought posted on one of my other blogs. It is not meant to be a perfect piece of writing, but more a sharing from the heart.

Reviews

[Laurie Morrison]

The nautilus is an excellent analogy/allegory, Ani! And as far as love, English is a language which falls short in determinate language as opposed to Greek, which has several to delineate the type of love being proffered/shared. For goodness' sake, people say they 'love' cars! Words lose their impoact through over-use, I suppose. This is a nice piece and with almost no polish would make a great article for the human interest section of a newspaper or magazine. Well done!

[Rain]

I love the metaphor. Oh yes, the heart can love in so many ways all at the same time. I never have heard of the CNR, so this was informative, too. lol. Don't let life get you down, it's a cycle. Interesting piece. Rain..

[Ken Simm.]

Interesting concept and nice use of metaphor. This I find interesting.