Renewal

The human body is magnificently created and is a quintessential example of renewal. Let us note some timelines of cell renewal in our bodies.*

• Every 100 days our blood cells are replaced by new ones.
• We get a new liver 150-500 days.
• The cells that line the stomach and intestines are replaced every 5 days.
• Taste buds on the tongue renew themselves every ten days to 2 weeks.
• The brain does not regenerate itself except in 2 areas: Olfactory bulb-sense of smell and the hippocampus-area of learning).
• The heart is dotted with stem cells that rejuvenate it at least 3 or 4 times over a lifetime.
• Cells deep in the lungs take about a year to regenerate. Cells on the lung’s surface renew every two or three weeks.
• The eyes are one of the few body parts that do not really change during your life. The only part that is constantly renewed is the cornea-the transparent top layer.
• Our skin cells change every month; the epidermis, the outer layer of skin, replaces itself every 35 days. Every single cell in your body will have died and become replaced with a life that is brand new every 7- 10 years.
• Our entire skeletal structure takes about 10 years to renew itself.

The pandemic is demanding change in the ways that we work and interact with one another. Masks can be abrasive to our skin. We tire of remembering to do social distancing. Travel is something of the past for most of us as are meals with friends in favorite restaurants or our homes. Hospitalizations are major work for us and/or love ones. The “new normal” has few precedents. We must think through every action and have a plan for something as simple as wanting to see others.

Just as we must get sufficient sleep, eat healthy foods, exercise in order for our bodies to regenerate at optimal levels, so we must embrace the new and assist our families, neighbors and associates to do so in order that our new reality benefits all of us in vibrant ways. We can renew our thoughts, transform our behaviors towards others whether they are intimates or strangers. I suspect that we will be utterly amazed by the renewal within ourselves, spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Reflections

Are you trying to get in your 10 thousand step a day or some aerobic exercise? Ask your children to teach you the latest dance. They will laugh at you; however, you and they will get exercise. You will hear their music. What could this do to your relationship with them?

*science.howstuffworks.com

Dorothy Watson Tatem, D.Min., ACC
Senior Associate
Next Step Associates, LLC
Cassandra W. Jones, Ed.D.
CEO & President