It is that time once again. The season of Love is upon us. As soon as Halloween exits, the now combined holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas will take hold of our hearts. And in some cases, stress will overcome us, but in most cases we will have love shine through for much of the season; yet in nearly all of the cases, there will be stress mixed in. It is my goal for myself, as it is every year, and it is my goal for you, that love would rule the season.
The prevention of cancer portion of the title is partially to catch your eye, but also very much a reality in that your immune system, which governs your ability to fight cancer, is of course, under the direct control of your brain, and as such is extremely susceptible to changes due to stress.
“I’m sick because I have been stressed out”
Either spoken or at least thought by nearly every person alive by the time they are 18 years old. We understand the incredible direct implication of stress on our likelihood of becoming sick. We understand that physical stress does it… more likely to get sick if you are exerting yourself without ample opportunity to recover before entering another stressful environment. Or couple the cold weather with high exertion, and see the rise of the percentage of “sick” kids. Soccer this past weekend is a good example.
It would be wise to simply accept that your immune system is weakened under stress. And from there, to understand that the lymphocytes, the neutrophils that are working in your bloodstream and then outside of it, are your defense against cancer. Sure, there are things that can be done to help make a cell more resilient… shoring up colonocytes with vitamin D, reducing inflammation and irritation to other cells, etc. But the brunt of the effort comes in most cases, from the immune system doing work. Often, when you don’t even realize you are fighting.
So. Love.
The Be Rich campaign at the Northpoint churches is a fantastic way to be connected to loving others. If you haven’t done this before, then you will love getting involved. I will post again when it launches in just one week. https://berich.org/
Also – I have two fundraisers going right now that I would love to get you to give just $10 to each! Here is he first, local charity forever fed, doing awesome work – https://www.facebook.com/donate/1491928171106823/
And then Hopequest, doing awesome work with addiction assistance – https://www.facebook.com/donate/1753857328249392/
Both need and deserve help. As you become more charitable during this season, you will feel so much love in your heart… it opens your mind to more connection and gratitude in other ways, and ultimately it keeps you focused on a very positive message all season long. I will be writing about love throughout the season. If you have a good story you would like to share, I would love for you to pass it on so that we can share it with others and be encouraging in every way possible.
Wrapping it all up. I believe we all give up a little on love every day. I mean, I know that I am guilty of pulling inward at times because I want to avoid a long drawn out conversation, or because I might feel like reaching out to give a hug or pat on the back will be a little uncomfortable or awkward in certain circumstances… even though I might do the same in 10 other similar situations that day. Those little moments where we give up on love, we leave somebody else just a little less full than we could have left them. I honestly think that we would not only be more healthy ourselves if we did these little acts. I also think that we might help another person thwart a cancer or another condition that is dependent on a state of homeostasis. Each of these moments of emotional boost is a tiny drop in the bucket that needs to be full to really prevent these huge things… but I think it is easy enough to say (and prove) that it all helps.
Here is to love! (and get ready for HUG day coming soon)
Be well and be blessed! – Dr. E