The Tree of Life: The Heart (Physiologically)

I have said many times before that the tree of life refers to the heart; specifically, it refers to the heart that loves, trusts and obeys God. That is on a spiritual level, but the heart can be seen as the tree of life even on a physiological level. In the Old Testament, blood was considered the life of the creature, and it was against the law to drink the blood. If blood is considered to be life, then the organ which moves that life throughout the body could be considered the tree of life.

If one considers the circulatory system, its center is the heart with large tubular vessels called arteries and veins leading away from it getting smaller and smaller ending with the tiny capillaries. Looking at this system by itself, it has something of the look of a tree with its trunk, branches and leaves. Speaking to a M.D. recently, he said that there are many similarities between our circulatory system and the life system within trees. Trees have the xylem and the phloem vessels which go throughout its length and breadth transporting a watery substance, with one end at the roots and the other at the leaves. The inner working of a tree is similar to the inner working of the human body, especially the circulatory system. So even at the physical level it is not that strange to call the heart, that organ at the center of our primary life system, the tree of life.

That reminds me that the inside of a placenta with its network of arteries and veins also looks like a tree and is called the tree of life (at least our wonderful Jewish midwife calls it that). My guess is that she calls it that because it is that network of blood vessels which gives the necessary life support to the developing infant. That tree of nutrition, hydration, oxygenation, and purification is a necessary condition for the life of the unborn baby. I haven’t figured out entirely how this tree of life relates to the tree of life, but I suspect there is an interesting connection. I’ll have to save that thought for later.

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