As we have begun to consider what it must be like to live in the enormous communities of cells that make up the tissues and systems of our body, and all of the marvelous amounts of interactions that are taking place inside and between the cells, let us pause for a minute and think of how good life can be.

Life is good when…

    There is integrity – everything is functioning the way it needs to make it work

    There is understanding – all of the individual members hear and respond to the needs of the others

    There is abundance – all individuals have everything they need at the time they need it

    There is balance – there is a way to efficiently resolve stress and regain balance when things go wrong

    There is unity – a clear vision of what needs to be accomplished for it all to work out

If you can recall a time when life was wonderful, there might be a few other items that come to your mind.  You might have had a time when you were able to be heard and you were able to hear and respond to someone, a time when communications were clear and just a glance conveyed volumes, a time when meaningful connections made a difference, a time when you were the best you could be.  You might have said, at such a time, that you felt “alive”.

     Isn’t it interesting that in the moments of life that make you feel the most alive you are surrounded by others that are interacting with you in a meaningful way.  There is expression, communication, interaction.  These elements are always present in the good life.  They seem to be at the very essence of life.

     Your cells also feel the same way you do.  When they have the good life, they are smiling at us when we look at them through the microscope.  Expression, communication, interaction have the same importance and effect on cells as they do on us.  The signaling pathways that allow cells to talk to one another make all the difference.  The way that your cells interact make them part of YOU, and give them the role they play inside you.  If our cells are happy, we are healthy.  The better and clearer the signals are between cells, the better chance they have to keep happy and healthy. 

       If we are to have the good life, it would be wise to learn a few lessons from our cells.