Your Body!- Fantabulous!
We live in a culture fraught with superlatives and exclamation points!! See all ads and TV commercials, hear all politicians. I give the cashier the right change; “Excellent!” she says. “How’re you doing today?” I ask a guy; “Terrific!” he says. I give the receptionist the info: “Perfect!” she says.
But I’m boldly using both a superlative and exclamation mark (see above) when referring to your and my bodies! Absolutely! And yet we take our bodies for granted to an ungodly degree! Our attitudes range from “It’s doing fine” to “It’s my body to do what I want with it!”
You may feel that your body gets creaky and fails you on the outside. But have you ever stopped to consider the incredible work going on inside of it? How everything fits together so well and harmoniously? How every organ performs constant and complicated functions? There are miracles going on inside your body every single day!
But let’s look at just one of our dozen “organs”- our stupendous “BRAIN”!
The brain never stops working; 50,000 to 60,000 thoughts pass through it every day, that’s 35 to 48 thoughts per minute. The brain uses about 20% of our daily energy using select ingredients plus 20 watts of electricity.
The brain gives us the abilities of rational thought, language, art, moral judgment and provides the possibility for individual personality, memories, movement, and a sense of the world. Brain cells, known as neurons, number 100 billions and are being replaced systematically every day.
It is a jellylike mass of fat and protein, the body’s largest organ, weighing about 3 pounds, which puts together highly coordinated thoughts, feelings, and physical actions, as well as regulates our unconscious body processes like digestion and breathing.
Your brain is a marvel, still a mystery in many respects, but a mass of magic! What could be our response to having such an awesome organ?
A sense of wonder-full awe for its Creator?
A sensitivity to its delicate reality?
A deep desire to protect it well?
A sincere responsibility to nourish it?
A willingness to contribute to it’s sleep-work?
A daily effort to expand upon its great capacity?
A thankfulness for its huge contribution to everyday living?
A positive and caring use of it for other’s/the world’s good?
A daring creativity to engage it in the whole adventure of living?
My mother would say, “Use your head!” I would say, “I do every day!” Not a good response. Healthier responses are suggested above!
~Earl Laman, Health Ministry member