Health and Healing – absolute or relative?

As this blog is essentially about health and healing, albeit from an alternative point of view, it seems appropriate to initiate it with its first post about that same subject.

Having practiced medicine “from both sides of the track”, ie. conventional and alternative, I am struck by the common notion that whatever intervention is used, be it conventional medicines, surgery, herbs, acupuncture… whatever, the results should be none short of miraculous . . . and . . . they must be fast.

Perhaps I’m over stating the point. But still there is the expectation, I must say both on the parts of the patient and the doctor/practitioner, that the problem/disease should be quickly and thoroughly eradicated and left in its place should be nothing but pristine health.

Any semblance of irregularity or incompleteness of cure is met with dissatisfaction and disillusionment.

This is not to say that this situation is not accepted.  It actually is, by most people.  They just “learn to accept it”.

The practitioner often feels like a failure as well.  I believe this is a big reason why some people migrate from doctor to doctor, method to method seeking the ultimate cure.  This may be why many practitioners become “seminar junkies”, nearly perpetually attending seminars or otherwise seeking and learning new techniques to further hone their diagnostic and treatment/healing skills.

But is this really a bad thing?  To want ultimate health.  To want rapid and permanent cure to whatever ails us?  Is it wrong to not accept “this is just the way it’s going to be”?

Well, my answer is . . . No, but with a qualification.

I believe that the desire to be completely well and free are fundamental human feelings.  I encourage everyone to not accept a poor health situation.  I believe there are many health and healing options available to us and our primary limitation is . . . ourselves.

Many times we choose to limit our health and healing options by not taking the time or personal energy to look for them.  As a practitioner, I know that my own limitations and weaknesses are the fuel that keeps me searching, studying and seeking out new and better ways to bring people back (including myself) to a state of health.

The only problem I see is that at some point, one has to realize and accept the fact that we will never be perfect.

We can follow the best diets, take the best supplements, take the best remedies and still have problems.  Or, the problem seems to take its sweet time to resolve.

What we fail to realize is that health and healing are not finite points in time.  Health and healing is a process.  Much like a life.  It has a beginning, a mid life and an end.  And like a life, it should not be judged too harshly.  It should be appreciated at whatever stage it is in.  Though certainly encouraged to improve to its best abilities.

Sometimes, lingering illnesses, whether benign like a common cold or more serious and possibly life threatening have to be endured.  The challenge is to do so without a sense of defeat.

So, I believe health and healing is relative, not absolute.  As such, we must align our expectations to maximizing our health to the degree possible, utilizing as many safe methods at our disposal as appropriate.  But, most of all being appreciative and aware of our small degrees of improvement, even if our ultimate goal of complete cure is still somewhat out of reach.