How to glue your love back together

One of the most exciting medical discoveries has just been published and guess what it is? A glue to mend broken hearts, quite literally.

According to the report published in the Science Translational Medicine journal, the glue can seal a wound in seconds and is strong enough to withstand the rigours of the beating heart.

The new medical glue is expected to find uses in many emergency situations such as military operations or automobile accidents.

How I wish the same could be applied to the emotional wounds of our hearts with the same effect!

That might never be, though, but reading through a number of articles on the discovery, I learnt a few lessons that could apply to our relationships.

Let me share some of these lessons with you today.

First, the glue developed by Harvard university researchers, was inspired by the ability of some creatures, notably slugs, to stick on surfaces by secreting adhesive substances.

SOLUTIONS TO ANIMALS' NEEDS

The solutions to these animals’ needs are thus internal, from their own resources. And how true that is with us — we really have the answers to some of our most astounding challenges. The secret, just as with the slugs, is to release “stuff” that draws us to each other, not to drive us apart.

The words we speak, our actions towards each other, even the thoughts we think about each should be geared towards gluing us together.

Second, the glue has the capacity to hold together the body’s tissues that routinely experience high internal pressure. According to Prof Jeffrey Karp of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, the new glue can seal dynamic tissues such as blood vessels and the heart, tissues that handle a lot of pressure due to the roles they play in the body.

Like the heart, it is a proven fact that relationships are at the heart of the survival of the human race and by their very nature, experience a lot of pressure.

The ability to withstand that pressure is what keeps us in relationships, holding on even when it appears untenable.

Unfortunately, modern relationships seem to only have very superficial glues and people quickly bolt at the slightest sign of trouble.

This might be partly because people are getting into serious relationships at a much younger age.

In fact, counsellors are dealing with complaints such as unsatisfactory sex from 15-year-olds. Besides age, the role of money in relationships has been elevated so much that relationships stand or fall with the economic status of the partners.

HIGHLY UNSTABLE RELATIONSHIPS

This has led to highly unstable relationships that seem to be unprepared for the pressure that comes with it.

Third, one of the most likely uses of this glue is going to be in emergency situations such as accidents and military operations.

It will be used to seal tissues as emergency measures that will allow a patient to get to hospital for more specialised attention.

Relationships too experience emergencies that demand immediate action. In fact, many relationships break because at the moment of heat, nothing is done to prevent further damage as they wait for more comprehensive action. For example, a partner is caught in the act and when confronted retorts, “you led me into it” or “imefanyika, imefanyika (it has already happened), let us move on.”

That in my view is like adding fuel to the fire rather than trying to put it off. An apology or maybe even silence might be a better emergency response

There are obviously many other emergency situations and we can save our relationships by being wise in handling them.

Well, there you have it. Take time to find out what glue your relationship might need to survive.