Connect within and Outside of Yourself
Did you know that connection can improve longevity, health, and even physiological measurements? In fact, social connection may be the single most important predictor of longevity and happiness!
I wouldn’t call myself a reptile aficionado, but, I’m in love with sea turtles. My love began 5 years ago in North Topsail Beach when I visited the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center. What started as a way to keep the kids engaged ended in me witnessing one of the most beautiful nature experiences I’ve ever had. The kids and I toured the turtle hospital and as part of this experience, we got to meet some of the turtle patients. During our visit, I met Remora. Remora is a loggerhead sea turtle that was hit by a boat and when she was brought to the turtle hospital, she had a remora fish attached to her shell. Fortuitously, Remora was being released back to the sea the day after I visited her in the hospital so the kids and I drove to witness the event. I was shocked by how emotionally moving this experience was. Obviously bonded to her human caretakers, Remora seemed to “wave goodbye” as she entered the ocean. It was then that I was first introduced to the plight of the sea turtle.
At the turtle release, I reflected on the predicament of these creatures, which strangely brought me to tears. Nearly all species of sea turtles are now classified as endangered in large part due to human actions and lifestyles. Much of the education at the turtle hospital focuses on ways we can help sea turtle survival such as cleaning up all our recreational equipment from the beach and disposing of litter. What stood out to me was how much plastic is in the environment and how harmful it is to creatures like sea turtles. Things like plastic bags, straws, and balloons, are hazards to sea turtles who may mistake them for food. I pondered their complete dependence on an environment that essentially doesn’t exist anymore and the many hazards they face as a result. The tenuous nature of the survival of these creatures—who weigh in at around 250 pounds—seems paradoxical. Yet, as big as they are sea turtles are in significant danger largely due to human beings.
The amount of plastic in our environment is astounding and, in a way, shows a collective disregard for things outside of ourselves. “Respect for laws inscribed in creation and the relations, which derive from the nature of things, is a principle of wisdom and a foundation for morality (The Catechism).” We must begin showing respect for every living thing and avoid disordered uses of things. The fact that we have life connects us to each other and the earth, which is good—harmony ensues from respecting the diversity of life. However, so often we have a limited perspective of another person or creature’s reality. We see things from our own values or philosophies and we often suffer because we want and expect. We struggle against the relativity and natural order of things. This leads to a collective isolation and disconnection not only from ourselves but from the interdependence that we have with each other in our human experience.
Connecting with the Earth
The earth and all of creation is good. There is something that is very satisfying about connecting with the earth. In fact, living in greener urban areas is associated with a variety of health benefits (1). Moreover, one 2019 study found that in addition to greener location, amount of time spent in natural environments can also benefit health and wellbeing (1). White, et al. examined associations between recreational nature contact within the last 7 days and self-reported health and wellbeing. They found that the likelihood of reporting good health or high well being became significantly greater with nature contact equal to or exceeding 120 minutes/week (OR health 1.59 (1.31-1.92) OR wellbeing 1.23 (1.08-1.4)). Positive associations peaked between 200-300 minutes per week with no further gain. This amounts to about 30 minutes per day!
The breath is a beautiful way to connect with the earth. On the inhale, you take in the environment around you and with the exhale you return the breath to the environment only it’s now changed. The air breathed in connects within thyself the body-mind, organs, and cells. It’s remarkable to think about the interconnectedness of the breath with the earth and all of creation.
One of the unexpected side effects I experience with transforming my diet from food like substances to real food is increased compassion for nature. Very soon after I changed my diet I began thinking about chemicals, waste, and the plight of nature to exist. Truly, one of the best things you can do for the environment is to “eat real food, not too much, mostly plants (quote by Michael Pollan).” A very large environmental threat is “factory or industrial farming” legally referred to as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO). CAFO are very large industrialized facilities raising animals for food (2). The environmental harm from CAFO is significant in terms of soil depletion, erosion, water pollution, loss of biodiversity, increased greenhouse gas emissions from cow digestion/manure/nitrogen-based fertilizers, and pesticide overuse.
A multitude of health threats stem from CAFO practices including infectious ailments, antibiotic resistance, and air pollution. Studies have shown that industrial farming is the leading source of particulate matter air pollution, which can penetrate human lungs and enter the circulatory system. Animals are greatly abused and treated inhumanely as routine business within many CAFO systems. The best way to reduce industrial farming is to not support these systems financially. Take steps to shop local farmers markets, purchase humanely raised meat or meat from regenerative farms, and incorporate more plants into your diet. I have found this to be overall budget neutral for my family.
As a pharmacist, my increased attention to plants has peaked my curiosity regarding herbalism and natural remedies. Medicine’s history is rooted in herbalism dating back to 60,000 years ago! Hippocrates, often referred to as the “Father of Medicine,” classified herbs energetically and developed a system of diagnosis and prognosis using 300-400 plant species (3). Aristotle compiled a list of medicinal plants and one of his students, Theophrastus, started the science of botany. Herbalism is rooted in the philosophy to use foods and herbs as building blocks for life and health. Plants are diverse. In addition, plant constituents are diverse in part because they produce phytochemicals as a form of adaptation to their environment and protection from predators. Historically, there has been interest in phytochemicals because of their medicinal value and they have been studied for their therapeutic effect. In fact, many modern-day medicines have been extracted or derived from plants. However, herbalism focuses on the whole plant system with the mindset that the whole is better than the sum of the parts versus one isolated constituent as found in modern day drugs.
Microbiome
Biodiversity is important and this is truly evident in understanding the health of the microbiome. The microbiome consists of the ecosystem within the gut containing trillions of bacteria. A biodiverse microbiome may promote development of healthy gut organisms and lower risk of various diseases (4). The digestive tract senses much of the environment by taking things in through the mouth, nose, ears, and eyes, all of which drain into the gut. The gut bacteria do a lot for their host like maintain integrity of the mucosa; protect against pathogens; modulate the immune system; regulate host immunity, nutrient metabolism, nutrient absorption, drug metabolism; and, synthesis of essential vitamins, enzymes, and amino acids (4). In many ways, a healthy microbiome demonstrates symbiotic relationships. Factors known to influence microbiota composition include genetics, diet, lifestyle, use of antibiotics, smoking, illness, surgery, immune status, mental health, housing (i.e., urban or rural), and seasons.
Diet is a key modulator of the microbiome and directly influences host homeostasis (i.e., balanced health). The role of various diets and their effect on the microbiome is largely unknown but some key principles include food diversity makes it better, and food additives make it worse. One benefit of a whole food plant-based diet is that it optimizes the microbiome and short chain fatty acid production. Short chain fatty acids are produced by the microbiome with fiber intake from the diet. One example of a short chain fatty acid, butyrate, is associated with better insulin sensitivity, mineral absorption, satiety, and decreased cholesterol/triglycerides as well as glycolysis in the liver all of which result in improved metabolic health. Interestingly, fiber supplementation does not produce the same result as fiber derived from the diet, which is superior to supplementation. Dietary fiber is only found in plant-based foods—examples of higher fiber food include oatmeal, popcorn, various whole grains, various produce, lentils, and, beans.
Love
What connects us most in relationships and what is sadly often missing most, is love. In its purest form, love is willing the good of the other. Love always involves sacrifice. The organization Love Is A Parable teaches that love is a compilation of 4 essences: emotion, gift, spirit, and residence. Often difficult for us to accept, is that love requires freedom to be authentic. Freedom from another’s domination, control, will, use, or manipulation. The opposite of love is not hate—it is use.
Only human beings have the ability to love in its purest and true form. Human beings are unique amongst all creatures in their will, intellect, and most importantly ability to love. Catholicism asserts that human beings are unique because we have inherent dignity being the only creatures God willed for our own sake. The rest of creation is oriented for the sake of us humans. This reality summons tremendous responsibility toward each other and the earth. In order to compassionately connect in love, we accept that we are not owners of anything, we are stewards. There is a difference between being an owner and a steward. Especially with regard to each other remembering that humans are not something, they are someone.
Many of us have barriers to love. We have been wounded and in response to this woundedness we have agreed with lies and built an armor based on them. In our abandonment, we believe we are all alone. In our shame, we believe we are bad, dirty, or it’s all our fault. The truth is, these are all lies we have agreed with to protect ourselves from harsh realities. We can abolish the lies with truth and self-compassion. For me, truth and encountering the purest form of love comes from having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Self-compassion can be cultivated, it is when we learn to embrace ourselves and our lives, despite inner and outer imperfections and provide ourselves with the strength needed to thrive (5). This is an important ingredient for true connection in order to release any temptation toward inauthenticity with others (i.e., use, manipulate, dominate, etc.).
Connection is important because we are healthier with it, we are created for community! Connection is the quality, state, or capability to be connected. Longevity, health, and physiologic measurements are improved with positive resonance and micro moments of connection. Connection and nurturing activate the body’s relaxation system (6,7). In fact, a 75-year cohort study on adult development looked at 268 male Harvard students from graduating years 1939-1944 and 456 men from inner city Boston and concluded that the single most important predictor of happiness and longevity is having social connections (8,9).
Connection is a key element of wellness—in my opinion. We are interconnected with each other and this earth. We were made for connection as evident by these data that show our bodily health is improved when we connect with each other and nature. How we treat each other matters tremendously (both in person and online). Can you release your desire to want or expect and will the good of the other? Not just good for your friends, but every human being? It’s a radical concept and not always achievable but we were made to embrace it. Can you offer compassion toward the earth and connect with it? Ground yourself in nature, grow yourself in love. It’s a journey not a destination.
Further information on love can be found at: https://loveisaparable.com/
References:
1. White MP, et al. Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific Reports. 2019;9:article number 7730.
2. Natural Resources Defense Council. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/industrial-agriculture-101 (accessed 2/26/23).
3. Information adapted from Dr. Marina Buksov, “Herbalism for Health Care Professionals” course, 2023.
4. Thomas A, et al. Dietary modification for the restoration of gut microbiome and management of symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2021;10:608-21.
5. Neff K, Germer C. The mindful self-compassion workbook: A proven way to accept yourself, build inner strength, and thrive. 2018. Guilford Press;New York, NY.
6. Fredrickson B. Love 2.0; How our supreme emotion affects everything we feel, think, do, and become. New York, NY: Penguin Group;2013.
7. Major BC, Le Nguyen KD, Lundberg KB, et al. Well being correlates of perceived positivity resonance: evidence from traitand episode level assessments. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2018;44:1631-1647.
8. Grant WT. Study of development. Harvard Second Generation Study. 2015. https://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org/grantandglueckstudy (accessed 2/27/23).
9. Mineo L. Good genes are nice, but joy is better. The Harvard Gazette. April 11, 2017. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/
