Heroes Not Zombies

Have you ever grown a pumpkin? They can be the most incredibly prolific plants. From a single seed they throw out feelers and spread in every direction until they find some walls to climb up.

Here and there along the way they put down more roots and throw up ever bigger leaves. One plant can produce several pumpkins.

I can’t believe just how much and how quickly they can grow.

But sometimes the seed doesn’t sprout or the plant doesn’t thrive. As best I can tell it depends on the circumstances. If you tend to the soil, adding nutrients from good compost, and if the weather conditions are favourable, the plant thrives. Without that, it doesn’t.

I’ve often wondered about that in relation to how we doctors treat our patients. Modern Medicine has developed along a technological fix it trajectory. We isolate problems then try to directly counter them. But the truth is that healing is always a natural process. Drugs don’t heal. Surgery doesn’t heal. At best they reduce the impact of a problem enabling the body to get on with what it does best – self repair, self regulation, self healing.

The only way I know to promote healing directly is by paying attention, to both the patient and their circumstances. To help them find and experience what stimulates and supports self healing – time spent in Nature, forest bathing, good nutrition, hope, care and love. But they didn’t teach me that in Medical School.

If we want healthier populations we have to address poverty and environmental issues. We have to address poor housing, hostile social environments and job insecurity. We have to address food production. We have to address loneliness and stress. In other words we have to tend to the circumstances if we want the people to thrive.