- Reduces stress: Deep social bonding releases oxytocin. This hormone counters cortisol. It helps lower anxiety.
- Combats isolation: Meaningful connections reduce loneliness. They prevent severe depression.
- Validates experiences: Communities provide safe spaces. People can share struggles. They feel heard.
- Builds self-esteem: Positive reinforcement increases confidence. It promotes self-worth.
- Provides purpose: Loving relationships give meaning. They foster life satisfaction.
- Lengthens your lifespan: Strong social ties boost longevity. Disconnection risks premature death.
- Strengthens immune function: Close connections reduce inflammation. They block chronic illnesses.
- Accelerates medical recovery: Supported patients heal faster. They survive surgeries better.
- Lowers cardiovascular risks: Satisfying relationships drop blood pressure. They decrease stroke risk.
- Protects cognitive health: Social integration stimulates brains. It slows down dementia.
- Encourages healthy habits: Peers influence positive choices. They inspire better diets. They prompt consistent exercise.
- Collaborative problem-solving: Neighborhoods pool diverse resources. Members share expert advice. They tackle challenges quickly.
- Enhances safety networks: Connected areas reduce crime. Neighbors look out for each other. Trust increases heavily
So far we have talked about our elemental nature beginning with stars and planets, then the basics of life with the life forms of plants, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals and so forth. Next we explored the nature of God, or Higher Power, our spiritual nature. This is followed by the various aspects of our human nature of child, adult, and parent, or leader. Each one of these is an amazing and glorious story in itself, a smaller universe of intelligence, wonder, and beauty.
Yet if we group them together and explore them in the light of their relation to each other and as a whole they become an ever more incredible and fantastic story. For instance, if we look at basic nature in all the life forms across the earth and time in it's diversity, abundance, tenaciousness, and beauty we can't help but be awestruck. So too our human nature, not only as we grow from child to adult and parent, but as tribes, communities, societies, cultures, races, and nations.
Mankind has done so many wonderful things, we have a multitude of reasons to be proud of our accomplishments. If we look to the arts of architecture, sculpture, literature, painting, music, performing, and film, or the sciences of astronomy, biology, ecology, chemistry, geology, psychology, and physics we find even more worlds of amazement to be explored and appreciated. These are the realm of human nature, and help us understand our relationship to each other and the world.
The Sanity Files are structured to deal with these in two parts. The first part is organized first as creation of the universe, then life, and then our various human natures. The Higher Power that came first and created everything is placed in the middle, as the center and source of all else.The second part of the Sanity Files that follow are also aspects of human nature, but these are activities such as art, music, and science. These are our toolbox of what we use to express ourselves to celebrate and share this wondrous gift that is humanity.
The story of humanity is long and complicated, and although there have been innumerable wonderful achievements, unfortunately our history has a large number of things to be ashamed of as well. Hopefully as our world shrinks due to the transportation, information, and communication revolutions we will summon our better angels to carry us forward. That is what Cowboy Dharma is all about, and in the second half of the Sanity Files we hope to find more ways to do just that. All aboard!