If you haven't got your health...

A long while ago now I remember my father saying on more than one occasion, "If you don't have your health you have nothing." My father had enjoyed good health for most of his life as far as I could remember rarely taking any time off due to illness.  During his later years I witnessed his deterioration as cancer slowly and insidiously took away his health, capabilities, and his happiness.

Mum also experienced slow deterioration of her health up until the time she passed in February 2018. For the last few years, heart and kidney issues along with instability resulted in repeated falls. This led to decreased mobility and associated reduction of the enjoyment in life. When life itself becomes a chore and seemingly a burden on others with no apparent useful contribution to make, it is not surprising that people want to move on. So it was with mum, who often declared, I am ready to go, my life's work here is done.

As we age, we are able to observe through our life experience, more and more about our life thus far and what is important to us; what actually makes us happy. How much of our time do we spend unwell or incapacitated in some way,  or... how much time do we spend enjoying the benefits of good health and wellness.

I like to look at life through 7 different lenses...

1. Health & Wellness
2. Mindset
3. Emotional well being
4. Relationship with money
5. Relationships
6. Spirituality
7. Passion, purpose and intent

I can honestly say that I am continuously seeking balance in all of these areas of my life and I believe that peace is the result of bringing about that balance and feeling good across all these areas.

Covid-19 and the Pandemic

The Covid-19 experience although devastating in  a variety of ways has provided some unique insights into our modern day society. Not only from how we have dealt with the pandemic, but people's differing responses to both the virus and each other.

The virus has exposed that in the face of a serious threat we do care about the safety of our older generation and the vulnerable in our society. It has also helped us understand how we are all interconnected from the local communities to global supply chains and that in today's "way of life" we have many "points-of-failure". That often the lowest paid are essential to keep our services running and provide support in the face of a real threat to their own lives.

Many during this 'Pandemic' have been extremely careful and followed the government guidelines religiously. Believing that those "in charge" know what is best for us, through their access to the best scientific support and medically aware experts.

Even after following all the advice and social distancing strategies however, many have still fallen victim to Covid-19... whereas others, flouting all the rules appear to have got away with it unscathed. This has led to quite a lot of hostility. Those obeying the "rules" becoming quite angered at the behaviour of the "selfish dissidents" who are accused of killing people and spreading the virus indiscriminately through their thoughtless actions. People have even been reported to the police for such behaviour.

Having watched a really interesting video (1 hour 20 mins or so) below with Zach Bush. I have included the video in this post as it is an important line in the ground from this point forth.

Viruses and Bacteria have been around since beginning of life here on earth, indeed, without their trillions of mutations and varieties it is fair to say our species; humans, wouldn't even exist. We are made up of, and exist because of; viruses and bacteria, they are the very fabric of life itself and are all part & parcel of the same rich tapestry of nature. These viruses and bacteria are not the enemy. We have been conditioned to believe bacteria and viruses are to be avoided, destroyed, and we must fear them.

We have by global consensus been shut down. Governments and authorities have decided to take a common approach and lock us down. The cost of doing this is potentially years of a depressed global economies. Many would  argue this was essential as the current path was not sustainable.

In short, we had (in the west at least) taken the path to profit, nothing else really seemed to matter and lobbying to scale things back has fallen on deaf ears for decades until now. Suddenly it seems, the planet has spoken.

"If you won't look after me, slow down the destruction of your own home that sustains you, then, I will give you something to slow you down, try this virus."

What we have been given from one perspective at least is a chance to stop. Take stock, look at the world, our lives, our relationships, our health, our family and friends, our work, our beliefs, our mindset and our finances. This virus has given us some space, a rare moment in time, which we can use to reflect on what we are doing, where we are going, do we even know? What is important to us as individuals, what is our role here? Do we actually like ourselves and our life? ... when have we ever been presented with an opportunity to be so introspective? When on the treadmill of life, each day is just so full with stuff...  this was our "normal".

I hear people say, "When are things going to get back to Normal?"

We could go back to "normal" ... normal looked like inequality, imbalance,  greed, reckless abuse of our planet, gross excess and extreme scarcity. Vast profits for the few, materialism, an epidemic of low self esteem, corruption, power, control and manipulation. Anxiety at pandemic levels along with depression and dis-ease as our way of life slowly disconnected us from our source of life; our planet and nature... We have become a sick species waiting to become ill as we abuse our bodies with poor nutrition (food which is tasty yet devoid of minerals, vitamins and enzymes), lack of exercise, poor air quality and the depletion of our immune system with drugs and chemicals until it can no longer fend off the myriad of viruses and bacteria that we all have inside us which are just awaiting our weakened state and an opportunity to take hold in our bodies. "Normal" is a man made poisonous and toxic environment that we have created for ourselves and we wonder why an ever increasing number of people suffer from debilitating diseases... and perhaps soon from widespread regular pandemics now being forecast for our not too distant future...

We are looking for solutions in the wrong place... the answers don't come from needles and drugs, the answers don't come from scientists in white overalls in sterile laboratories... the answers come from within us all...

The arrogance of the human race is breathtaking

Are we so arrogant that we believed us 'intelligent human beings' could come up with some plan that would outwit nature. The very thought of it really is a lesson in how far we have fallen. Look at the magnificence of this planet, the beauty, the intricacy, the interdependence and interconnections of every single thing that exists on this planet.

Us humans struggle to get small Hydroponic systems to work, and these are infinitesimally small projects; no insignificant in comparison to this awesome planet we live on.

We have fallen out of love with nature, we have taken the path to believing nature is a resource to be plundered and to profit from, something us humans have control over and can abuse as much as we want.

Maybe this Virus is serving us a very important lesson. We are a disposable life form on this planet. We are not immortal. And it takes just a tiny amount of effort for mother earth to wipe us out and begin again... she has all the time in the world. 

The long awaited second wave

And in our arrogance we believe that a virus can be stemmed by "social distancing" something we humans are not designed for. In truth what are we hoping for? ... is it that we can reduce the concurrent instances of the virus to levels that the Health Services around the world can manage?

If so then this might be effective. However all it has done is slow things down or delay things. SARS and MERS were not so treated; no lock down. These killed more people than Covid-19 but those numbers may indeed be skewed by the 'delay tactics' deployed rather than just letting the virus take its natural course. 

There is some hope that, now we are moving out of "flu season" that the lock down has enabled enough pockets of the virus to disappear so that once people venture out once more they will have missed the outbreak... but it is a big hope...

Time will tell but do we really think that we have the power to manage viruses now on this planet? I find this idea really rather absurd to be honest.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if, once we all poke our heads out of our abodes once more as lock down is relaxed, the numbers will grow significantly again. What then? ... YoYo On / Off lock down until the winter and mutations appear and a subsequent pandemic is declared, yet this time even more virulent.

Man Versus Nature

No sooner had we escaped from Climate change, Brexit, Presidential elections, and then... actual Brexit, we are thrust into the Covid-19 Virus pandemic. And like all those things listed before, this pandemic has become almost violently divisive. But this time divisive from more than one perspective.

Not only are people divided about the severity of this Virus depicted by the (lower than expected) mortality rate, but even more so by the extent of the seemingly gross, over zealous nature of the response. This has already wreaked devastation globally with even worse yet to come.

This is a significant turning point in the history of the human species... this chapter is coming to a painful close... the future is likely to contain a very different set of choices... where will you focus?

MAN

On the one side of the fence are scientists, chemists, business people, politicians and experts from all manner of disciplines. These people are explaining to us what is happening and how they are going to save the day. 

These folk have convinced us about the lock down, that a slow emergence from our homes is good for us, and that our businesses are a small price to pay to save lives. Businesses can be rebuilt, people cannot be brought back from the dead.

Plus... a vaccine will be produced which will save us all. Put your trust in these very intelligent clever scientists who will create something in a laboratory that will take the virus out. Just one virus though, not a mutation, or any of the other quadrillions of viruses that roam our planet. The sub-plot and additional division creating more angst of course, is the issue of Vaccines. Not whether vaccines in their correct design, testing, and implementation work or not, but how or why you would try to innovate a vaccine for a virus that would have mutated many times by the time one is created... and thereby render it unfit for purpose.

NATURE

On the other side of the fence are scientists, chemists, spiritual and conscious people (not exclusively), and people from all manner of disciplines, business people, and many who are now believing that nature holds the secrets to our health and wellness.

These folk are trying to convince us that the answers we are seeking for this virus and for leading a peaceful, happy and content life come from within ourselves. Through aligning ourselves with nature and every other living (and otherwise) entity on this planet, we can find the balance and harmony that we seek. This planet gave birth to us a long time ago, the answers are on this planet, they are given up to us freely as sure as the sun arrives daily without expecting return.

The problem we think we have is not the problem. We think the problem is the virus. This is one of a quadrillion viruses and bacteria out there. Perhaps then, the problem is not the virus, maybe we should look to our immune system that is being compromised constantly. Our way of life in these 'modern times' is hammering our immune system 24/7. We are no longer a healthy species, we are systematically poisoning ourselves by what we are breathing, putting into our mouths (and the volume of it, or lack of it), what we smother over our skin and the chemicals (medicine) we are encouraged to consume. We are unable to recover because of our lack of sleep, lack of rest and recreation, insufficient exercise, loss of connection, and decline in community and relationships. Some of this is out of our control... but much of it we can tackle if we choose to.

This earth and the ecosystem we live within has been here for billions of years. It knows a thing or two, maybe we should check into nature a little more, align ourselves with the planet that gave us life?

Consider this... If you put the whole of the earth's existence into a 24 hour clock, Man arrived in the last few seconds of the last minute... We have got a little big for our boots might I suggest!

Final few words...

There is absolutely no doubt that the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare services produce much needed drugs and deliver procedures that extend our lives, and these have been amazing developments. My own father's life was prolonged for many years and my mother too. She lived with a problematic mitral heart valve for probably 40 years, there is no doubt that to some degree the medicines and procedures she received extended her life. So I am grateful for what we have achieved.

But... we are in a different era now. We know more about how the body works better than ever. If we listen to our bodies are able to access powerful compounds and natural substances that can work for different individuals and keep our bodies healthy and well. Of course these work differently on different people. If you measure these natural products and techniques using the same rules that govern the Pharma Industry they won't pass their tests... not because they don't work, but because all of us are different and one size does not fit all...

If we are to lead happier and healthier lives going forward then the first step in all of this isn't to  vaccinate everyone on the planet and introduce man made solutions. No...let us encourage people to look after these amazing instruments we have been given (our bodies) and help us to understand it is for each of us to take responsibility for our own health.

It is our responsibility... and... if we don't care, then guess what... no one cares.

Conclusion

Once we start down the path of caring about our own health, this leads to wanting to be the "Best Version of ourselves" and ensuring that what we eat and drink, put on our skin, the exercise we take, and the sleep we enjoy works for us... then we will be healthy enough to enjoy our work, hobbies, holidays, relaxation with friends and family and live happy and fruitful lives well into the future.

This has to be a win / win / win for everyone... ourselves, our family and friends, and less of a drain on the health service too.