The Power of the Sun ☀️ | Plants and Photosynthesis 🌱
April 03, 2021
Welcome to Easter Weekend for those of you who are celebrating.
I’m also celebrating the changing weather as we transition to Spring here in the Midwestern US. ☀️ I’m excited to dive into today’s treasure trove of knowledge and perspectives I am super excited to share, so LET’S HOP TO IT!! 🌸 🐇 💨
My hope and prayer for all of us is that we find the time to unlock and open up little eggs of joy (besides Kinder joy chocolates) a little more each day. Let’s kindle" joy instead 😉
Little moments can make all the difference if you remember last week’s post about paying attention to the little things in life with gratitude and appreciation. How did your challenge go, to find a few things in your regular routine that you could reimagine and relearn how to appreciate. 💫
For me, I’ve been consistently reminded about the changing seasons, the colors on the trees, the chirping of the birds outside my bedroom window, the constantly changing times of our lives and the reality that we see similar changes every year.
"Love is ever new because it never grows old." - St. Augustine
Sometimes, it can feel good to have a bit more security and stability, something we can rely on when the world feels strangely changing and different “out there.”
And you know what, sometimes it’s an amazing breath of fresh air when we learn something new, sparking creativity and novelty. In fact, the human brain is hardwired to be inspired by novelty, by finding new” and finding treasure. No wonder we love hunting for Easter eggs right?
Did anyone else prefer to find money in their Easter eggs instead of candy/? That was me, good o’l little (not so little) Jonathan holding on to coins of savings year after year, just in case. How easy it is for us to throw our sense of security and safety out the window with money and finances as compared to relying on our closest kin, our inner faith and spirits that we cannot deny are in search of much more than chocolate or gold.
Thousands of years ago, we literally had to go search and find” in order to survive. We needed to find resources for survival and be incredibly adept at connecting to our environment, like plants, animals, streams of water, the whispers in the distance and the hums of nearby trees with leaves turning in the wind.
While hunting for Easter eggs may be just another westernized holiday activity glorifying candy, the overwhelming unnecessary use of plastics and accumulating treasures for oneself, I assure you this is not the history of Easter that many around the world have dedicated their lives to remember and recognize as a time to celebrate.
"Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure: where your treasure, there your heart; where your heart, there your happiness." - St. Augustine
Tell us what you treasure most during this season of your life in our community Facebook group.
🌱 We Are Plants 🌱
I’m Amazed at How Biological We Really Are
Like Seriously, take Sunlight for instance….. okay, so you probably know about photosynthesis right?
How plants and other organisms convert sunlight into energy (food for their growth and vitality)…
Well, get this, SO DO WE. …
And I bet they didn’t teach you this in high school biology folks… nope… because we DIDN’T EVEN KNOW this until more recently.
Ever wonder why the sun and its warmth felt during a simple stroll outdoors always seems to call your name?
Or why people who live closer to the equator seem to live longer, happier, more active lifestyles? Curious why so many people have moved to Florida, Texas, and other southern states in the US?
The sun seems to call us south, just like the birds who travel south every winter.
And I’m sure you’ve heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder aka SAD for short, which is a real lived experience where depression, isolation, loneliness, and poor health can increase in relation to lack of sunlight exposure.
Poor health, poor energy, vitality, poor livelihood with lack of sun exposure. Is it just all that Vitamin D? Think again..
☀️ THE SUN IS AMAZING 🌞
Literally, every single one of us has the potential to GET ENERGY from the sun!!
Our cells actually have the power to convert energy from the sun in a chemical process, sparking a chain of events inside the body with sunlight exposure.
But the sun is infinitely even more amazing and important in our health.
And this also deserves the chance to talk about Melanin, the important protective factor in the body that develops dark pigment for skin, hair, eye color and more. Melanin also sounds a lot like Melatonin (most known for regulating sleep).
Trust me, the science connecting the dots here is endlessly fascinating. Melatonin continues to surprise us with more and more research speaking to its powerful role as an antioxidant, life extender, promotes cellular repair, and even cancer prevention.
Obviously we know sun is important for our health, and I haven’t even mentioned the impact of light exposure on the eyes to regulate circadian sleep cycles. All of us humans need the sun. But get this… it’s not just “us,” as humans per se, because there really isn’t a “just” us… we have trillions of cells inside and on the outside of our bodies at all times - all of those cells combined, working in constant communication together make us.. US
They’re the real heroes in this story.
They are the ones who can harness the power of the sun and convert it to energy just like plants, because well… I mean in reality we’re all just a bunch or organized structural biological organisms functioning in different, but similar ways together.
We were meant to live life together. (At least I believe so.. )
I mean, like seriously how crazy is this.. that when we breathe we need some great high quality air in the form of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and a few other gases floating around at all times. BUT, our body only needs this breath of fresh air for just a second to perform it’s biochemical chain of events that begin with the beginning of every breath.
And you know how oxygen steals the spotlight when we talk about our breath, well we actually need a bit more than just oxygen.. we need all those other flavorful gases as well, just in smaller and more unique ways.
They always told us “We breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide,” right?
Well, it’s kinda true.. like I said, we primarily are concerned about the oxygen, yesssss but that’s not the whole equation of course. And when we breathe out, we don’t only breathe out carbon dioxide… but that is the primary byproduct of our breath out that most people are focused on.
[side note] - did you know someone can do a simple check of your breath to see whether or not your body and brain are using more Carbs, Fat, Protein (or Ketones) as its fuel source for energy!?!!
I know, crazy right!
It’s called a “respiratory quotient” and it’s super fascinating to think about.
We breathe out different amounts of quantifiable factors like gases and molecules and compounds of elements in those gases based on our METABOLISM aka how we produce energy. Measured by a metabolic cart.
OKAY OKAY OKAY
Back to sunlight! ☀️
So get this, THE SUN SHINE IMPACTS YOUR METABOLISM
YES
YES IT DOES!!
HOW CRAZY!! 😳
But it makes sense right? IF the sun plays a role in how we convert energy and fuel our bodies, then of course it would impact our metabolism, because that’s exactly what our metabolism does!
AAAANNNDDD it makes intuitive sense when you think about less sunshine in the hibernating winter and people tend to gain a few extra pounds in the winter, naturally for survival (and from those extra slices of pie at thanksgiving right? No shade)
Get it, no shade? 😎
Anyway…
Another important point I want to make is this:
Plants use and need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and they give off more oxygen when they perform photosynthesis (so when they breathe)
and
We humans use and need oxygen when we breathe and we give off carbon dioxide.
So what does that mean ? It means we need the plants, and the plants need us. We need each other.
We need plants for oxygen.
They need us for carbon dioxide.
We are literally breathing in each other’s air….
How crazy (AND COOL) is that?!!!?
Okay, so let’s sum it all up here…
Both plants and human beings can harness the power of the sun. The sun influences our metabolism, and plants help us breathe, and we actually help them breathe as well. That’s what I call a lovely community. BioHarmony.
Us humans, living and breathing in a beautiful sunshine filled garden of plants, all thriving together. :)
Go get some sunshine this weekend, and every day if you can. ☀️
Embrace nature, the biological symbiosis we experience living and thriving in beautiful connection to our natural world.
Next time, we might just need to discuss the incredible role that owning a dog has on your health! You might be surprised about all the many benefits… until next time!
The "search and find" you mention that is so deeply engrained in us reminded me of how I felt this past Fall, when the Texas Pecan Trees were blossoming their fruits. My family and I stopped to rest mid road trip and we noticed a gentleman looking down picking stuff off the ground. So we joined in and started foraging pecans. It was impossible to stop. My three older kids and I just kept gathering and foraging and the feeling of security every time another pecan made it into the bag was comforting and exhilarating. We only stopped because my wife reminded us we actually had a destination to get to..Thanks for bringing back this vivid memory Jonathan! Keep up the wonderfully inspiring writing!