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According to a recent study published in Journal of Heredity, our activity level - or lack thereof - is determined largely by our genetics. Crossbreeding two generations of active and inactive mice, the study identified a series of 20 different genomic locations that influenced activity levels. This is not so surprising. Science has already succeeded in comprehending the fact that our genes predispose us to different attributes, characteristics, and even movement. The genes are installed in us and we can’t choose or change them in any way.
The science of Kabbalah tells us that the entire plan of human development is imprinted in a person. It is the engine that pushes us forward and forces us to evolve. From the moment a person comes into this world, this plan becomes operative and begins to act on us and control our life. However, unlike other parts of nature, a person has the freedom to choose his environment. It is from this point that we can influence our development.
While we cannot control our hereditary inclinations, we can influence all of them by the choosing the right environment. A person can have negative or weak genetic factors, and just by placing those factors in the proper environment, the quality of the development of those factors can be enhanced. We can transform our hereditary inclinations under the influence of the environment.
Sadly, the mice in the recent study did not enjoy such a freedom. At about 9 weeks old, each mouse was housed in an individual cage and given an exercise wheel. Researchers measured how far, how long and how fast the animals ran every day for three weeks, at the end of which the mice were genotyped. Even so, researchers concluded that the animals` activity levels could not be entirely attributed to genes; heredity accounted for only 50%. Perhaps the mice were influenced by the mouse next door! If all the inactive mice had been placed in an environment with active mice to encourage exercise…well who knows.
The fact remains that 50% does not control, rather it points to the very importance of choosing our environment. The evolution of genetics does not improve our situation but realizing the point of choice does. In the matter of man’s choice of environment, his control over himself is measured. As you can see, we are influenced from all sides—inside and outside. Everything we do is dictated to us both by nature from within our genes and from without by our environment. Using our freedom to choose a good environment, we can influence our development for the best. We cannot directly affect our genetics, but if we provoke a change in our external conditions, we can determine
our future: our future thoughts, aspirations, and in one word, the quality of our future.
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