A recent survey of teens revealed that 72% of them felt they were happier and more peaceful to be phone-less, with 1/3 acknowledging they spend too much time on social media and their smartphones. A smaller percentage felt anxious, lonely and upset without their devices.

I acknowledge I remain a Prisoner of Time, with some moments when I manage to escape, only to fall again into her clutches, like a wild animal caught by falling suddenly into a carefully disguised pit trap.

Some amazing wonders of our current capabilities as humans to create initiatives for the common good: a pop-up hospital, brain computer interface implants, AI skin cancer detection, the largest solar energy project in the US, and deep sea explorations.

Resistance to doing what I say I want to do often manifests as negative mindtalk, self-defeating behaviors, avoidance and procrastination. I want to consistently choose “yes” to what nurtures, and drop the “shoulds.” I have learned that success begets success, and to be satisfied with starting small and sticking with it.

Perhaps as a species all the division we are experiencing is because of an actual epigenetic shift to not trust any of our institutions and instead blindly follow the advice of hive mind social media influencers. If genetic changes are akin to changing the lyrics of a song, epigenetic changes are like fiddling with the volume.

What to call it, that protective energy that somehow showed up for me in my life multiple times, at least twice a decade, shielding me from serious harm, guiding me to safety?

When I am feeling dispirited from the gnawing grievances of my own small self, I surrender to such revered unrest, knowing it is what stimulates me to keep digging and discovering hidden gifts to bring forth into the world.

Damage and decay of biological systems is the hallmark of aging, as our cell’s powerhouse mitochondria break down, various and diverse proteins unravel or clump together, and precious reserves of regenerative stem cells dwindle. I was quite struck by a statistic I heard years ago, that every day in this country 100 people turn 100!

The gentle sounds of swaying trees and crashing waves is what I awaken to most mornings, just before the soft sunlight fills the view behind us with beauty, only needing to open my eyes and slightly tilt my head to welcome it.

So what are we exactly? Is the body a collection of specialized cells, a fluid continuum composed mostly of water with permeable membranes on the biomolecular scaffolds of the system, an electromagnetic field, a quantum field? All of these at once?