One of the frustrating things about house cleaning is that no matter how clean you try to keep things, household dust still accumulates.  That grey dust, it turns out, is largely human skin.  The tiny flakes of skin that we lose on a daily basis create over seventy percent of the dust in our home.

Dry skin is a translucent grey colour.  Of course humans come in different colours, but the pigments which colour our skin are found beneath the layer that we shed.  Blood vessels, too, are much deeper down, and are not lost as skin sheds.  Therefore, there is neither blood nor pigment to colour the grey skin dust.

The epidermis, or outer layer of skin, sheds skin cells and replaces them with healthy new cells.  The epidermis is completely replaced once a month.  It’s estimated that everyone sheds about half a kilogram of skin a year, as our skin cells are continually replaced.  Unfortunately, we don’t replace the lower layer of skin called the dermis where scars and stretch marks occur.  Since this layer doesn’t shed, the scars stay with us.

Beyond the seventy percent of skin dust, the remaining thirty percent of house dust comes in different colours because it’s mostly wind blown soil, varying according to our geographic location.

So next time you dust, remember that grey powder is largely made up of members of your family or friends who’ve left it behind.

MOVING BEYOND MATTER
by Ron Hughes

It’s hard to decide whether knowing that 70% of household dust is made up of discarded skin cells is encouraging or not.  On one hand, it suggests that we are in a deteriorating condition.  On the other hand, it hints at a renewal process that keeps us fresh.

You don’t have to look too hard to find evidence of deterioration.  As we look at elderly friends and relatives (maybe even ourselves) we can see the symptoms of that process etched in faces, reflected in slower gaits, and demonstrated by sluggish mental processes.  On it’s own, that’s discouraging.  When we sweep under the bed we find hard evidence that we are literally not the persons we once were.

However, if we put a positive spin on it, we can focus on the rejuvenation aspect of the process.  We are not our skin.  We merely live in these bodies which keep renewing themselves – replacing old cells with new ones in a rather marvellous way.

While our bodies renew themselves spontaneously, it takes effort to renew our non-material aspects.  That has to be purposeful and deliberate on our part.

Though our bodies have a way of renewing themselves to slow the deterioration process, that process itself is deteriorating.  So, we wear out.

Yet, there are many people alive today whose bodies have experienced significant decline, yet whose minds and emotions and wills are as vibrant and strong as ever.  We must also ask in the case of those who have age-related dementia whether the real essence of their being has deteriorated or if it is only the physical brain that is reducing their ability to connect with the world they once knew and loved.

One thing is clear, in the Bible, God invites us to experience on-going spiritual rejuvenation.  Expressions like "new birth," "regeneration" and "renewal" all point to God’s intention to preserve his human creation beyond the boundaries of physical existence, both their own and that of the universe.

As you see evidence of the ebbing of physical energy in your life, take a moment to consider the importance of spiritual renewal.