Heroes Not Zombies

I love the colours in this photo.

Colours? It’s all green!

Yes, but look at the shades of green! Look at the intensity of the green!

I look at this and I see vitality. I see life in abundance. Life thriving.

Isn’t health more than survival? Isn’t it also about developing, growing, and thriving? Isn’t it expansive, energised and engaged?

Sometimes I think we aim too low in health care. We have got better at saving lives in extremis. We have got better at rescuing people at the point of death. We are better at helping people to survive serious injuries and illnesses.

And all of that is good. Remarkable even. But is it enough? Is it enough to suppress symptoms and slow the progress of disease? I mean those are good achievements too. Who wouldn’t celebrate the relief of suffering.

But we’re not good at cures. More people are living with several chronic illnesses now than ever before.

And we’re not good at prevention either.

I wonder if that’s because we don’t try hard enough to create the environments and the societies which naturally promote health.

If we don’t address poverty, poor, inadequate housing, inequality, poor quality industrial over processed food, chemically flooded agriculture, pollution, the destruction of forests, the loss of species, the consumption of carbon…..

If we don’t address hatred, fear and prejudice, greed and narcissism……

Then we will continue to fail. To fail to create the circumstances which enable and promote thriving.

Because that’s what we humans need….more care, attention and love…..to each other, to Life and to the world we live all in together.

That’s how we create a thriving planet. Is that beyond our imagination? Is that beyond our creative abilities? Is that beyond our hearts’ desire?