* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
These autumn leaves of ocher and maroon tones that, with the wind, dance in the pond of the Pedralbes monastery in Barcelona, draw a smile, much needed today due to the current conflicts, where there are so many women who suffer.
This photograph in The Photos of the Readers of La Vanguardia serves to honor and show solidarity with all of them on this November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
The lips, these folds around the mouth, symbolize love, since they are necessary to give a kiss. Since ancient times it has had great symbolism that refers us to dialogue, harmony, affection and love.
The kiss has been a symbol of love since time immemorial, as stated in different biblical passages that tell the stories of Jacob and Judas Iscariot.
In Greece and Rome of the classical period, the meaning of the kiss expanded as an expression of love or affection, for example, as reflected in the writings of Catullus and Ovid.
Precisely from lips, those of the playwright Aristophanes, who was born right at the foot of the Acropolis of Athens around the year 448 BC. C., a mythological story emerged about love, which always defeats violence in all its forms.
Aristophanes attended a party in 416 BC. C., in which were, among others, Socrates and Plato. And there arose, in The Symposium, the origin of Platonic love, born from the lips of philosophers. Socrates, for example, noted that learning to love is a step toward discovering higher beauty and truth.
When Aristophanes intervened, after suffering an attack of hiccups, he invented a myth that points to the feeling of lack, of loneliness, until we find love.
According to the myth, Zeus realized that he had to do something to weaken humans, whom he saw as too insolent. So he ordered Apollo to cut them in half and divide them forever: each human was left with two legs, two arms, one head and would constantly be literally trying to find the other half of him. That is, looking for reciprocated love. And the best way to certify it is a kiss with those lips that should serve to unite and not separate.
Nowadays it is known that kissing is even beneficial for health. With a kiss, adrenaline and norepinephrine are released into the bloodstream, increasing the heart rate and blood pumping. A kiss can burn two to three calories per minute. The endorphin released can be more potent than the action of morphine, which helps level stress levels and gives a feeling of well-being. Furthermore, kissing reinforces our self-esteem.
But those same lips not only help us to kiss, but also to speak, even if necessary to shout, not only on a day like today but all year round if necessary, enough of violence against women!
