Spring Rebirth: Advice for a Fresh Start

• March 25, 2016

It is spring in the northern hemisphere. We’re celebrating more sunlight, and natural rebirth is all around us. It’s a great time for us all to renew our commitment to WHealth.

Our lives are seasonal. We cycle between periods of dark and light, fatigue and energy, despondence and hope. We are part of the natural order, and this is her way. Even our bodies, the very tissue and cells that we are made from need to cycle between breakdown and growth to stay healthy.

Since my second year at medical school, I have been fascinated by bone. I grew up thinking of bone, our most rigid tissue, as solid concrete-like material that forms the scaffolding for our body, and a protective armor for our most delicate organs, our brain, spinal cord and heart. I was right about it’s function, but wrong about it’s constitution. Unlike concrete or metal, which are super-hard and relatively stable, bone is a highly dynamic, living organ.

Minute cells, invisible to the naked eye are constantly at work, keeping our bony architecture healthy. Little cells of destruction, called osteoclasts, are constantly breaking down unhealthy or damaged bone. They nibble away at the old and damaged tissue, before carting it off for disposal or recycling. At the same time, billions of tiny little builders, cells called osteoblasts, are rebuilding the broken matrix, repairing the old and broken and strengthening areas exposed to higher stress. Your bones are hives of activity when they are healthy – organized breakdown is followed by systematic regeneration.

During your figurative winters, use the cold and dreary days to activate the osteoclasts in your life. Take a good look at your daily habits at work and home. Scrutinize your actions, attitudes and beliefs. Then get to work at dismantling the bad habits, bad attitudes and limiting beliefs. Do it in a systematic fashion, knowing that spring will return.

But now it is spring again, and it’s a fantastic time for rebirth. We are fundamentally biological beings, and your body is the place to start your work. Exercise, balanced nutrition and sleep are your friends. Learn about them. They are the forces of rejuvenation. Embrace them in your daily life. The initial period of a re-boot is hard work, but soon you will have nature intervene. Repetitive good behavior becomes WHealthy habit, and Mother Nature will reward you with health. When you have this foundation, you are able to unlock happiness using two powerful drivers – social engagement and purposeful living. When you have both physical and emotional health, you will be in a position to unlock prosperity. This is your birthright.

When you honor your natural design, you will be rewarded. Use the magic of spring to fuel your rebirth!

Have fun,

Roddy