[BIOLOGY | Week #6] The Pattern of Life

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Living and Non Living Systems

If I were to distinguish living and non-living systems based on the 7 Life Processes, a living thing would have the following characteristics: movement, reproduction, sensitivity, nutrition, excretion, respiration and growth.  Though I would have to delve deeper into questioning what life is. The characteristics listed above are a great starting point, though I believe all things are alive and hold energy, like inanimate objects such as rocks and even our homes.  How do we categorize things such as viruses that move, grow and have a detrimental affect on the human body. They don't seem to fit all seven characteristics, but they sure are living! 

De-Stressing & Re-Connecting with Nature 

I am a city girl! I grew up in an urban environment surrounded by concrete, sirens and lots of people. I used to tell myself that being outdoors was scary. It wasn't until a visit to Joshua Tree National Park three years ago when I realized how powerful nature's medicine could be.  My trip came during a time in my life where I was stressed, overworked and emotionally/physically depleted. Boulder climbing, sitting under the stars and pausing to observe the resiliency of desert life around me was transformational. 

My first time at Joshua Tree eating a Clif Bar on a cliff. (May 2016)

Since that trip, I have made it a point to connect with the land around me wherever that may be. Especially making an intentional trip to visit my Motherland of the Philippines and reacquaint my body with the trees, air and oceans there. This has been amplified since beginning my journey in healing work and Chinese medicine school.  I have also come to learn that folks who grew up in a similar experience as mine, (i.e. person of color from a working class family in the inner city) have internalized the idea that nature, outdoor activities and even traveling outside of the country wasn't "for me." Part of my goals as a practitioner is to not only make our medicine accessible, but shift the thinking around nature as medicine.      

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