Hardwired for Health
Dec 03, 2023
Hey Guys,
It’s December! Can you believe it? And because it’s December, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. I know, it’s supposed to be “look” and not “feel,” but honestly, where I live, it doesn’t really look like Christmas yet. The truth is, it doesn’t really feel like Christmas right now, either. I’m in North Carolina, and It’s 70º outside! That’s not a complaint, by the way. That’s the perfect temperature for me.
Anyway, as I’ve pointed out, it’s already December. It is so interesting how fast time ticks by the older you get. When I was a child, days seemed to last for years. As a “maturing adult,” days seem to last only seconds. It seems like just yesterday that I celebrated Christmas with my family, but in reality, it was just yesterday, and I was decorating this year’s Christmas tree.
Tic, Toc, Tic, Toc. 2024 is coming, and it’s not waiting on us.
It’s been a wild and exciting week. My landlord has suddenly discovered that the place I rent from him is worth over twice what I’m paying him, and I got to watch my son swim at the US Open. It’s the latter that was most exciting! Caleb Dressel actually swam over top of my son during warmups. Talk about a brush with greatness! As a spectator, the US Open was a neat event to witness. Many of the best swimmers in the world were there. Their talent and ability in the water are staggering. As a parent, the US Open was a beautiful dance. My son is not one of the fastest swimmers in the world, but he has worked so hard and was invited to the dance. It just makes my heart gush with love to watch him do something he loves alongside the best in the world. Man, it felt like Christmas!
I heard a great quote this week from Dr. William Li that just resonated with my soul. “The body is hardwired for health.” Dr. Li was in an interview with someone and he was talking about how health is not the absence of disease. Health is what the body is designed for. This resonates with me because I’ve been teaching that the body is designed to heal for over ten years now; we are preprogrammed with a movement template that builds health and helps our body heal. In fact, while teaching last week, it dawned on me in the moment that healing itself is movement.
Think about that for a second. When we heal, we are moving from a state of injury or a state of being unwell to a state of wellness. The body is designed to move towards health and wholeness. Our lives are a flow of continuous movement and continuous effort to be healthy and whole. Yes, it may not seem like that when injury and disease happen, but that doesn’t mean the body isn’t designed to prevent, repair, and overcome injury and disease. It’s when we engage in our design that the body is best able to move towards health and healing. By the way, have you ever noticed how the word “heal” is in the word “health?”
Anyway, how do help our bodies do what they are hardwired to do and move towards optimal health? We honor our design in the many, many ways we are intended to. Here are just a few of those ways, a few of the things we are hardwired to do:
- Breathe through our noses with our tongues on the roof of our mouth
- Move our eyes, heads, and bodies often
- Challenge our bodies through physical exertion once in a while
- Challenge our minds through mental exertion once in a while
- Eat Whole Foods that come from the earth and not the lab
- Get outside in nature often, participate in
- Laugh with friends, laugh alone
- Be grateful and cultivate a joyful heart
- Smile often
- Hum and/or sing often
- Serve someone in need, help others
- Build relationships with positive, joyful people
- Seek GOOD news, Share GOOD news, BE GOOD news
These are just some of the things we are designed to do; the things that move us towards health, wholeness, and a quality of life we all want to have.
So remember, when you get a cold, when you stump your toe, when you feel alone, when your situation stresses you out, You are hardwired for health. That means you are hardwired for wholeness. Knowing that will help you get there, especially if you remember and focus on it. After all, what we focus on we magnify.
Ok, that’s enough for today. I’ve got to go do some math and explore all the wonderful possibilities my current landlord has presented me with! Man, I love feeling alive!
Have a great week!
Tim
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