My Big, Fat Why

And a publication milestone

Yesterday, I slogged through a mess of papers to track down nutrient bioavailability info. It was grueling! But, I’m working on a follow-up to that folate post I wrote a while back and have gaps in my knowledge. The first folate post was also heavy lifting for me, research-wise, as is the follow up post I am working on. This research makes me rue the day I let a college advisor talk me out of taking organic chemistry and biochemistry. He said those classes would be probably be too difficult “for someone with my background” and “ruin my good GPA.” Someone like me being, someone he has never met but can see a gap in my otherwise-perfect-A's transcript:

General Ghemistry, second term, B-.

And at what this new advisor of mine considered a “non-competitive” school, to boot!

Never mind what, besides chemistry, might have been going on in my life at the time. Nevermind how hard I could have worked do better this time around. Anyways, he never asked, and at the time, I thought it best to take the advice. A missed opportunity, and one that pains me when I’m slogging through Nutrients journal.

So, why do I persevere at this difficult work? I sat down today after yesterday’s round of research to think about this.

What inspires me about this research and writing? Why am I compelled to put in these hours and efforts?

And, it turns out, maybe to no surprise, my childhood self had the answer:

I love being on the Earth, and find living an all-around fascinating experience.

All this science and jargon (I share only the best bits with you), comes down to justifying my big truth:

I am here to build meaningful connection with the World.

It is that simple: meaningful connection. This research is seeking the answers to what really counts—and justifying what I know to be true:

Life is better when the Planet is your friend.

My work is about bringing to light the things that increase our connection with Nature. Things that–meaningfully, measurably, predictably–bring us in closer communion with Reality.

Science, circadian rhythms, nutrition, health... these help us become better friends with Everything.

And so, that is where I have to give credit to that aforementioned college advisor.

Thanks to his advice, I went off to a year of geography and psychology–easy A's for me—instead of chemistry. Who knows but that those “easy A’s” also steered me here to write about the science of living in harmony with the Sun and Earth.

I graduated with a B.S. in General Science (emphasis areas: Biology and Psychology) from the University of Oregon.

How about you? Did your studies lead you in surprising directions? Please hit reply or leave a comment to share what led to you becoming the expert you are.

Why share this all, now?

This sharing and request for you to share something about yourself leads into the real reason I decided to send today’s letter: a milestone! Like most writers, I started by sharing my work with friends and family. This publication has now grown to the point where there are more of you readers I don't know than readers that I do! I’m grateful for each and every one of you. And for those I don’t yet know, it's nice to meet you.

I'd love to hear about who you are, how you got there, and what brings you to Brighter Days, Darker Nights. You can share by logging in to leave a comment or by hitting reply to this email.

Thanks, all, for reading! I'll be back later this week with more research and please join us for Office Hours this Wednesday, Nov 2nd at 1 PM PT.