The Essential Elements for Living
- limprej2
- Apr 14, 2019
- 7 min read
During a conversation on the train, an eighty year old wife conveys to me her concerns about her husband’s safety. She goes to sleep early; her husband on the other hand goes to bed late. She worries that he may fall while doing any type of activity. She was debating whether she should push him to go to bed at the same time as she does, or wait for him on the couch. I empathize with her dilemma, and suggested that she develop a plan where she goes to bed at her usual time, and also ensure her husband’s safety with its implementation. Two weeks later, I received a phone call from my travelling buddy who was elated to report that indeed “it works, it works.”
This illustration reminds me of issues in our everyday lives. There have been tremendous advances and discoveries over the last century, things that make life convenient, faster; we hold them so dear, that many times we forget about the simpler alternatives. In the scheme of things, life is so complicated, that I am asking you to slow down, and digest these concepts for a moment: LIFE IS BREATHING. WE ARE WATER. WE ARE WHAT WE EAT. SLEEP IS REVIVING.
Early in my career, I was exposed and stumbled upon what later became apparent as one of the most basic necessities conducive to living. I had the opportunity to witness the meaning of the Breath; at that time, the term Breathing was used interchangeably. Even with the awareness of my observation, perhaps not even I understand the importance, impact, and singularity of its definition. Breathing is free, available, voluntary, abundant, and self-possessed. Everyone has access to the Breath; everyone uses it and manipulates it according to their need. We use the breath to move air; no one can live without AIR. The difference is what happens when breathing is compromised, a breath that is no longer available without some sort of intervention, be it medical, mechanical or pharmacological. Most expect an improvement, and a return to previous function; when it does not come to that conclusion, stress and anxiety develops to the point of panic; thus creating difficulty to reach the desired expectation. Demonstrations of empathy, sympathy and compassion will not resolve the problem, and will not reinstitute spontaneous breathing. All previous truths regarding breathing in those circumstances are annihilated. Breathing becomes expensive, pre-meditated, regulated, and programmed. Those experiences remain implanted in my psyche. The Breath is important, and should consciously be kept intact and unobstructed so as not to experience the other side of breathing. Unconsciously, I remind everyone to breathe, and engage in the teaching of deep breathing with analogy.
This phenomenon was recently revealed to me in the most unabbreviated color. I returned to the regular practice of Yoga about two years ago, and rediscovered the joy of the Breath. The breath is at the center of that universe; I also embarked on a long held desire, so true to form, I am learning to swim. I soon realized the contradictions and differences of the simple act of breathing. Yoga encourages you to use the breath unhurriedly, at one’s own pace; there are many breathing techniques one can perform during a yoga practice. Contrary to the breath pattern in Yoga, my swimming coach held me to four breaths to the count, and will yell often since six tend to be my favorite numbers. It wasn’t until I mastered the technique that I truly recognized the contrast. The breath is clarifying, cleansing, fortifying; it elevates, it lifts. The lesson taught by a single breath is a metaphor for life, it teaches patience, thoughtfulness, mindfulness, and carries one to many of life’s transition. The breath should be used at its full potential, and recognized for its value; the breath is the one element that no one can do without.
Water
Water is found everywhere on Earth, and wherever water flows on this planet, you can be sure to find life. It turns out that several chemical properties of water make it indispensable for living creatures. About 71 percent of the Earth's surface is water-covered. (1) The average human body is made up of approximately 60% water; it is the major component of most body parts (2). It delivers oxygen throughout the body. It regulates body temperature. Almost every function of the body depends on water including elimination, immunity, red blood cells production,purification, metabolic activity, and the creation of energy. Water is the best fluid for the body.
The quality of living is highly enhanced when water is used at its fullest. I dare to say water promotes the sensation of aliveness. If water is already intrinsic to one’s necessity, please continue; if not; extend your curiosity and try it, come back and gloat about your discovery and its benefit.
Everything has water including the air; life is incompatible to one’s existence without water. Awareness of these two life forces, water and the breath can exponentially provide a greater sense of well-being
Food
The theme of the 2015 World Exposition in Milan was, "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life", encompassing technology, innovation, culture, traditions and creativityand how each relates to food and diet. The focus was on the right to healthy, secure, and sufficient foodfor the world's inhabitants. Futuristic concerns about food securityare compounded by forecasts of increasing uncertainty about the quantity of food which will be available globally. In a nutshell, the thinkers understood the urgency since the size of earth is basically the same since its beginning, even with erosion, while the population has grown in leaps and bounds, and yet all of Earth’s inhabitants share the necessity for food.
Throughout the ages, food has always played a central character, being the focus of all types of references and anecdotes. Remember that time when the Great Teacher (Jesus in the bible) was with his disciples, and the large crowd following him got lost in his storytelling. An early example of his greatness was how a meager meal from a friend was transformed into enough food to feed a crowd. A complete relationship with food is a relationship with your creation. The February 21, 2019 digital edition of Time Health, by Alice Park detailed the possibility of food being scientifically considered as medicine. I encourage all to take a look, and then digest the information presented in that article.
The new parents spend great amount of energy to ensure their newborn is being fed the right type, right amount of food at the appropriate time. Later in life the same refrain repeats itself. Food is an essential part of everyone’s life. It provides the energy and nutrients to grow and develop, to move, work, play, think and learn. I recently spend time in another part of the world and was fascinated by the amount of time devoted to food. While having breakfast, there were discussions about plan for lunch and later meals. Food fulfills social and spiritual needs. Food has symbolic meanings associated with love, comfort, stress reduction, security, reward, and power (3).
SLEEP
Few years back, I developed an issue, although common, was absolutely unfamiliar to me. For the first time in my life, I was carrying excess body weight, and could not correct it on my own. I am somewhat blessed with a level of height, therefore it wasn’t much obvious to other people. I sought the help of my physicians, none of them were alarmed; they all attributed it to life changes. It was not acceptable to me for several reasons; the first and most important was a genetic predisposition to the danger of being overweight. The other contributor factor was a recent surgery which is closely associated with weight gain. I had not made any other changes to my lifestyle, except working at home for over four years. I joined an athletic center, and worked with a personal trainer. I also took a fitness vacation, where all meals were provided in this all-inclusive event. When I returned home, I signed up to meet with a nutritionist. My intention was for development of a meal plan tailored to my need. Scott spent the first 40 minutes talking about everything but food. I was growing a bit inpatient, first all I was paying pretty money for that consultation. Forty minutes later, the topic turns into Sleep. I left with the promise to change one habit at a time, the first being the quality of my sleep. That night, I went home putting a sleep mask in a dark bedroom.
Deep in the center of the brain, there is a small endocrine gland the size of a pea and the shape of a pine cone called the pineal gland. It secretes a hormone called melatonin which regulates the sleep and wake cycle (4). Light serves as its charger during the day for the preparation of sleep. Secretion of melatonin is at its height at night, darkness enhances its secretion. It is within that same line of thought that the recommendation to sleep in darkness is made.
Melatonin can be found in its synthetic form at health food and drug stores. There are those who think the sun is a great source of power. Gazing at the sun during the first few minutes of sunrise and last few minutes of sunset can help boost the pineal gland.
Sleep is indispensable; it ties the brain to the body. Some believe that sleep cleanses the brain. Certain genes are only activated during sleep. People come up with solutions to complex problems after sleep. Sleeps helps with memory consolidation. Sleep helps with the restoration of the brain’s energy. Sleep keeps the heart healthy, and it may even benefit weight, mind and more. (5)
The message for today is that water is ideal for Homo sapiens. Water is an essential element of life. The lack of water leads to many unfavorable, and at times dangerous conditions. Water is everywhere (later we will discuss different types of water), so let’s recognize its importance and its purity. Just like water is crucial to life, everyone needs air to exist. Living is unsustainable when oxygen is absent for a certain amount of time. Sleep is transitional; it relaxes and regenerates the body. Lack of sleep may contribute to stress, inflammation, depression, and a host of other predicaments. Food turns into fuel that provides energy and water to breathe into better sleep. The neglect or misuse of any one of these elements will lead to disastrous consequences. We breathe, we drink water, we eat, and we sleep. From all of these important elements, only one is extrinsic to the body. For now, we’ll leave all the intricacies alone until the next write-up.
REFERENCES
1- Matt Williams (December 2, 2014). What percent of Earth is water? Universe Today
2- The Nature of water: environment Canada
3- The importance of food in our lives: Finding balance even when we cannot eat. Lifeline Letter, May/June 2011.
4- Sophrology lecture Level I , class 22 – Sleep
5- Stephanie Pappas (July 18, 2017) Why do we sleep? Live Science.
6- Mark Stibich (December 16, 2018) Ten benefits of a Good night’s sleep. Healthy Aging .
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