there are two kinds of animals in this world: osmoregulators and osmoconformers.
all animals need to maintain appropriate water and solute concentrations in themselves and in comparison to their environment. this is a lot harder than it seems. there are so many climates and environments that differ globally, not to mention changes within our immediate environment (notice earlier posts this week about the blizzard that hit seattle) that occur weekly, or daily, depending where you live (is it just me, or does the west coast a little confused about it's weather?).
there are two ways that animals deal with their tumultuous environment: osmoconformers decrease their membrane permeability (permeability= how easy it is for things to come in or go out), which means there's less transmembrane movement. the animal adapts a stagnate state, with little change occurring internally. osmoregulators decrease the difference between the concentration of solutes and water inside their body as measured by the solutes and water in the environment. the animal adapts an ever-changing state, where readjustment and reabsorption are constantly occurring, with an internal environment that is never constant.
there are evolutionary advantages and disadvantages to each. osmoconformers do not have to expend any energy maintaining a stable and healthy internal environment, and yet because of their inability to adapt to a changing external environment, they cannot survive in any other environment. osmoregulators are able to adapt and change to a multitude of different environments, and yet they spend priceless energy on making sure they don't swell and burst with too much water, or shrivel and die because of lack of water.
unfortunately, we cannot choose which way we react to our environment physically (we are osmoregulators, by the way, as deemed by god). but there are other ways we get to choose.
there are two kinds of people in the world: osmoregulators and osmoconformers.
we all need to maintain an appropriate level of emotional engagement with the world. this is harder than it seems. there are so many different climates and environments that we find ourselves in, both on the large scale, and on the small, everyday scale.
and so there are two ways we deal with our tumultuous environment. osmoconformers decrease their emotional permeability. they adopt a consistent state, where little infiltrates their hard exterior and disrupts their internal peace, and yet the world knows little of them because not much is released from their internal world. osmoregulators decrease the emotional distance between themselves and their environment. there is a constant flow of emotion (and by emotion i don't mean just sobby, bad emotion) as they adjust and readjust themselves according to their circumstances, and it is not hard for the world to see what emotional state they are in.
there are advantages and disadvantages to each. osmoconformers maintain a consistent internal state, and if their environment becomes too extreme, they are able to harden up their outer shell. they often are able to exude stability and peace, as long as they are don't have to change too often or too quickly. osmoregulators are not limited to any situation because of their inability to change, but expend much emotional energy as they transition from one climate to another. there is no level of depth or emotional state that is unattainable to them.
and so we must choose how we will react to the "climate changes" of this life.
