Recently my favorite motorcycle, who I affectionately call Tina, started sputtering and backfiring. It was obvious when I rode her that she was not well . The problem ended up being her spark plugs. The basic requirements for the functionality of any engine are air, fuel, and fire (or spark.). When one of these is missing or diminished the engine will not run properly. This is very similar to the requirements for human life; air, water and fuel. If we are breathing, drinking enough water and putting healthy food into our systems our bodies function.
However, without spark our bodies don’t function optimally and we do not thrive. The way I see it, spark is two fold. #1 spark is our metabolic system. And #2 is our soul spark, or the spark that makes us feel alive. The things that make our soul feel as if it is taking a deep breath of fresh air.
# 1 Our metabolism: It has two main parts called anabolism and catabolism. Anabolism is responsible for new cell growth, the maintenance of body tissues and the storing of energy. Catabolism is the process that people are most familiar with which is the break down of fat and carbohydrates to create energy. The metabolic system is affected by many variables including the fuel we put in our bodies, movement or lack there of, current weight and former weight, lack of sleep, food deprivation, and some underlying health conditions including: hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome, pituitary gland disorders and Cushing’s Disease. We are programmed to blame our metabolisms instead of be grateful that they exist to help us. Our bodies and minds are not designed to work against us. They are incredibly resilient and want to continue living and thriving. However, it is up to us to decide which path we take: 1. Take control of our own health and lives in order to thrive while in this life 2. Be slaves to the system and continue down the victim path. Health problems happen to me that require I take medications, I don’t have control over my health, I can’t lose weight because my metabolism is too slow etc. . . Health problems are the bodies way of telling us that something is out of balance or there is some sort of excess or deficiency. There are simple adjustments that you can make that will have a remarkable impact on your health and life.
# 2 Soul Sparks: We can simply exist on this planet, stuck in the rut of our social construct. Wake up, go to work, come home, make dinner, help the kids with homework, watch TV, go to bed, and repeat. Stuck on the hamster wheel of life. Or, we can do some soul searching and figure out how to thrive and have a fulfilling experience while here on this earth. What sparks you? What makes your soul sing? If you know, go do it. And do it as often as possible. If you don’t know. . .give yourself permission to explore this. I assure you, we were not put on this planet to live in the missionary position of life. And if we were, well then tap in to your rebellious side, and don’t conform to this idea. There is so much more to life. Life is awesome! Change your spark plugs and go thrive.