年年歲歲，我們都在增長年紀，卻不見得有實質成長。如果一年過去卻沒有半點進步，多半是把時間花在不該忙的事上。

這樣的反思或許嚴肅，甚至顯得苛刻，畢竟我們都在生命旅途中跌跌撞撞、邊走邊學。學了許多無關緊要的知識，做了許多沒有意義的事情。

這些「無意義」，是否真的無價值？不是由外界判斷，而是由自己裁決。錯誤可以轉化為經驗，荒廢也能啟發覺察，只要我們願意從中汲取教訓。

每個人的出生背景、生命境遇、因果軌跡都不相同，在這幅不盡公平的人生圖像中，存在一個最公平的基準：時間。無論貧富貴賤，每個人每日皆有二十四小時。

然而，每個人的考驗不同，因此成長的路徑、定義也不盡相同。有些人不曾把成長納入生活藍圖，直到疾病介入，打破原先的規劃。

許多人的人生轉折，來自一場病。那場病，或許終結了生命，也可能喚醒了生命。

生病，為生命開啟了另一扇視野的窗。從某個角度看，「健康」與「生命」本就共享同一價值背景，在造物的眼中，或許兩者原是一體。

 

我幾乎是在追尋健康真相的過程中，意外踏入生命的探索之門。從不同的角度切入最終都會指向相同的核心，當深入探究生命本質時，將能更全面理解健康的真正意義。

感染，提供了一個通往真相的清晰視窗。人類本有機會透過感染，理解進化遺留給我們的智慧。但因為視角偏頗，我們對身體的信任也逐漸偏離。

事實上，能夠感染後存活，正是生存力的展現。我們不該恐懼感染，而應學會經歷與穿越感染。如今，對感染的恐懼已成全民共識，卻也是全民迷失。

人生總有困境，困難當前，就是要面對與處理。處理後，我們才能更加茁壯。這份力量，不會降臨在選擇逃避的人身上。

人類與低等動物不同，我們具備慈悲與團結的特質，特別在重大災難之後更是如此，因為困境愈深，人性中扭轉局勢的潛力就愈顯珍貴。

 

我曾迷失在上一代所繪製的「成功藍圖」中，直到大量閱讀開啟了我的覺知，一句話在我腦中浮現：「成功應由自己定義，別人替你決定的目標，不一定屬於你。」

每個人都在修行，但修行的功課不同。每一次陷落谷底，都是重新審視人生的機會。對我而言，谷底就是失敗的現場，是上蒼提醒我「繼續努力」的標誌。

模特兒創業家凱西・愛爾蘭（Kathy Ireland）有句座右銘：「從未失敗，就代表你努力不夠。」曾經在那個路口轉彎的人，都懂這句話的深意。

我的人生中，有兩條道路重疊同行：一條是探索自我生命，一條是釐清身體內部的運作脈絡。當我領悟兩者的共通性時，那是一種難以言喻的興奮與震撼。

如果我們處理困境的方式違逆了自然法則，問題不但不會解決，還會變得更複雜。事實上，我們對「感染」的理解錯了，對「治療」的理解也大錯特錯。

治療，從來不是外力的工作。人體的原始設定，將療癒的權限交給了自己。當我們與細菌為敵，與身體為敵，與自然為敵，我們也親手開啟了疾病蔓延的地圖。

 

我從黏膜的免疫系統中，看見了養生的方向。免疫球蛋白的進化，其實都在書寫身體面對感染的能力；腸道微生物賦予免疫細胞的訊息，是對共生最完整的註解。

我們暫且不談艱澀的學理，只談方向。成長與成熟，不僅為健康背書，也為生命價值背書。大自然的療癒力量，本來就存在於我們體內，適應生命的能力，也早已內建。

美國自然醫學醫師麗莎・倫金（Lisa Rankin）的經驗，就是絕佳的見證。她不僅詳細記錄了自己的養生之道，也誠實記錄了面對生命考驗的歷程。

她說：「當生命四分五裂之際，不是長大，就是長腫瘤。」我反覆分享這句話，因為它深刻點出：身體與生命，本是一體。

為什麼會長腫瘤？為什麼會得癌症？這些問題，其實是生命考題未能領悟的結果，是把私心硬塞進生命藍圖的代價，是過度對價必須承擔的考驗。

我們熟悉的「身心靈三位一體」，其實不包括「大腦意識」。思辨屬於獨立的功能，並不在三者之中。當人類用意識強行干涉不屬於自己的領域，便應驗了孔夫子說的「不在其位，不謀其政」。

這句話，正是我們在健康與生命修行路上遭遇困境的註腳。

 

（通往愛的道路，是我們的靈性歸宿。）

 

Growing Up, or Growing a Tumor

Year after year, we age—but we don’t necessarily grow. If a year has passed without even the slightest progress, it likely means we’ve spent our time on things that didn’t matter.

Such reflections may seem harsh, even severe. After all, we’re all stumbling along this journey of life, learning as we go. We’ve learned many things of little importance and done many things of no real value.

But are those “meaningless” things truly worthless? That judgment doesn’t come from others—it’s ours to make. Mistakes can be transformed into experience; wasted time can awaken awareness—if we are willing to learn from it.

Each person’s background, life circumstances, and karmic trajectory are different. Yet within this seemingly unfair picture of life lies one of the fairest metrics: time. Regardless of wealth or status, everyone has 24 hours a day.

However, everyone faces different trials, and so the path and definition of growth differ from person to person. Some people never include “growth” in their life blueprint until illness shatters their original plan.

For many, a turning point in life is triggered by illness. That illness may end a life—or it may awaken it.

Illness opens another window of perspective. In some sense, health and life share the same underlying value. In the eyes of creation, perhaps they were never meant to be separate.

It was through my search for the truth about health that I stumbled upon the gateway to life itself. Different starting points ultimately lead to the same core. When we deeply investigate the essence of life, we begin to understand the true meaning of health.

Infection offers a clear window into truth. Humanity was given the opportunity to understand the wisdom left to us by evolution through infection. But due to our skewed perspective, our trust in the body has gone astray.

In fact, surviving an infection is a testament to vitality. We should not fear infection—we should learn to go through it and grow from it. Today, fear of infection has become a universal consensus, but also a universal delusion.

Life is full of adversity, and challenges must be faced and dealt with. Only after confronting them do we become stronger. That strength never comes to those who choose to run away.

Unlike lower species, humans possess compassion and unity—especially in the aftermath of great disasters. The deeper the crisis, the more precious the human potential to turn things around.

I once got lost chasing the “blueprint for success” drawn by the previous generation. It wasn’t until I began reading extensively that a thought emerged clearly in my mind: “Success should be defined by yourself. A goal set by others may not truly belong to you.”

Everyone is cultivating themselves—but we’re all working on different lessons. Every time we hit rock bottom, it’s a chance to reevaluate our lives. To me, rock bottom is the scene of failure—a divine reminder to keep going.

Model and entrepreneur Kathy Ireland once said, “If you’ve never failed, you’re not trying hard enough.” Anyone who has had to make a sharp turn in life knows the deep truth of that statement.

In my life, two paths have always run in parallel: one is the exploration of the self; the other, the decoding of the body’s internal workings. Realizing the connection between the two brought a surge of unspeakable excitement and awe.

If the way we deal with adversity goes against the laws of nature, the problem doesn’t just remain—it grows more complicated. In fact, our understanding of infection is flawed, and our concept of treatment is gravely mistaken.

Healing has never been an external task. The human body was originally designed to entrust healing power to itself. When we see bacteria as enemies, our body as an enemy, and nature as an enemy, we are actively drawing the map for the spread of disease.

From the mucosal immune system, I found a direction for health cultivation. The evolution of immunoglobulin is a living record of the body’s ability to respond to infection. The microbial messages delivered to immune cells by the gut flora are the most complete annotations of coexistence.

Let’s set aside complex science and speak of direction. Growth and maturity are not only endorsements of health but validations of life’s value. The healing power of nature already lives within us. Our ability to adapt is part of our built-in design.

The experience of Dr. Lissa Rankin, a physician of integrative medicine, is a powerful testimony. She not only recorded her methods of self-healing in detail but also documented her journey through life’s challenges with great honesty.

She once said, “When life falls apart, you either grow—or grow a tumor.” I’ve shared that line many times, because it sharply reveals that the body and life are one and the same.

Why do tumors grow? Why do we get cancer? These are not just biological issues—they’re the results of lessons left unlearned, of selfishness forced into the blueprint of life, and of an over-reliance on transactional thinking.

The familiar phrase “mind-body-spirit trinity” doesn’t actually include conscious thought. Analytical thinking is a separate function—it’s not one of the three. When human consciousness forcibly meddles in realms that don’t belong to it, we fulfill the Confucian wisdom: “Do not concern yourself with matters outside your role.”

That sentence perfectly sums up the obstacles we face on the path of health and life cultivation.