Q. How do you make a flower grow?
A. You create the conditions favourable to the growth of the flower.
The modern orthodoxy of Medicine isn’t about cure, it’s about management. The majority of drugs prescribed and surgical procedures employed aren’t curative. We don’t generally talk about curing asthma, diabetes, multiple sclerosis or dementia. At best, our treatments attempt to manage disease – to control or reduce symptoms and/or disease progression. These are laudable goals, but they aren’t enough. The global burden of chronic disease continues to grow relentlessly.
We could do better.
We could do better if we consciously attempted to support the body’s natural systems of health maintenance and of repair. We can do that by mobilising the individual’s resources in body, mind and spirit, and by creating the living conditions conducive to health and flourishing.
Really, this is about learning more from Nature than we do from Industry. It involves understanding the importance of care, loving attention, diversity and the creation of mutually beneficial bonds. It involves clean air, clean water and toxin free soil. It involves whatever nurtures and nourishes growth and resilience – in body, mind and spirit.
In short, it requires a shift in emphasis away from management and control of individuals towards the creation of life enhancing societies and environments.
What do you think? Is this possible? Can we work towards such a future?
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