Below, down underneath where the world is forgotten and darkness reigns, life thrives. It’s where roots abide and bacteria – along with lovely, lovely earthworms – wiggle around, digest and churn up rich and nutrient soil. But it’s the above that we thrive upon – where the sun shines, the rain falls and the green, green grass grows and grows and grows.
A rabbit nibbles the delicious strands of green into its lithe and fuzzy body. A squirrel scampers across the bright green blades to simply careen up the nearest tree. All while a dandelion pokes its yellow head up high in order to grab the warm rays on its petals, its leaves drinking in the ultraviolet rays, packing the energy into its cells and leaving the plant with chlorophyll-rich leaves.
Green.
Renewal. Growth. Spring.
All because of the sun and the wondrous energy generated from its fiery combustion, spewed 92 million miles in 8 minutes to land, lightly, on Mother Earth.
Stop. Reread.
Ninety-two million miles across space into a humble plant then converted into usable energy by the process of photosynthesis. That beautiful green leaf, reaching its solar body out to grab the “food” from the sun, powers the world. Because without the sun to fuel a plant to fuel an animal to fuel people, how would we be able to laugh, or hug or simply enjoy another’s company?
Carnivores, think deeply, and though you must ingest animals to feed your bodily needs, take notice of the power of the humble plant. Plants – vegetables – those same greens that fuel the muscles of a (vegetarian) silverback gorilla, hold incredible nutrients: chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and even protein and good fats (from their seeds).
And with spring bringing forth the rainy, sunny ritual of plants waking up from their seeded sleep, right now is all about green and growth; renewal of earth, renewal of body. It’s time to gear up and flush out unwanted toxins and allow the body to build and grow in its own awakening from winter.
So work your way over to the vegetable bins and look at the immensity of green bouncing back at you.
Green = energy = health.
Pluck some parsley, reach for watercress, grab some kale. Eat them raw, or steam them lightly, but be sure to keep the beautiful color of green as bright at possible. Remember, the sun’s energy is locked into those bright green leaves, and if cooked too long or hard, the green dies and with it goes the spritely energy residing in every cell.
Better yet, juice them. Squeezing the delicious green from plant tissues allows the body to absorb much more nutrients, faster. Chlorophyll in plant tissue is kin to blood in our muscles, through a very similar molecular structure they both share, with the chlorophyll molecule sporting a magnesium center while our hemoglobin carries iron.
Chlorophyll is known to fight infections, help heal wounds and promote the health of the circulatory, digestive, immune and detoxification systems. It cleans, alkalizes, and energizes the blood. Remember blood not only transports nutrients but also sweeps metabolic wastes and toxins out of the body. Chlorophyll binds to and removes toxic heavy metals from the body with its chelating ability.
So swap a cup of morning coffee for a cup of fresh squeezed greens. Include the sweetness of an apple or the enzymatic power of pineapple to the green goddess juiced from spinach or wheat grass. Ignore that Danish and imbibe the green gold juiced from kale or dandelion leaves and mix it with the calming juice of potassium-laden cucumbers or the spiciness of sulfur-rich radishes.
Go grab a book on juicing, or use the Internet to find a local juicing bar. Instead of remarking on all the excuses not to down the green fluid, remember the miracle that resides inside each of those cells, the distance that spark took to reach the plant and the energy that is waiting, ready and willing to release its vibrancy into your very own cells.
I’ll drink to that.
