The Illusion of a Finish Line

Is it just me or is there a contradiction here?  For a posse that’s “all in this together”, it also seems like we’ve never been so divided.  I never thought I’d see the day where anyone would be judged for going to work or fined for surfing.  There’s a herd mentality going on here which is creating a psychological pandemic. 

This road never ends.  It’s our journey.  There is no magic final milepost or finish line with 100% safety and where everyone will be “protected”.  Nature has never needed a “cure” to continue to grow and thrive.  Nature only needs for us to stop interfering with it.  It thrives when we leave it alone.  

I’m grateful that we still have freedom of speech when it comes to what we teach our kids.  Presently, the conversations around our kitchen table are intentional and very purpose driven.

Our recent kitchen table tête-à-tête…

Our words matter.  Think about how we feel when we see (and continue to see) headlines with words like apocolyptic, unprecedented and armageddon.  These words don’t exactly invoke hope or trust or anything healing at all.

What about the “New Normal”?  

“Normal”, by definition is “conforming to a new standard”.  This suggestion that the whole planet should conform to a “new normal” threatens the immense potential of our humanity.  Apparently we’re all expected to behave the same way and use the same words and be equally fearful.  After all, we’re all in this together right?  Maya Angelou once said “If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be”.  Let’s remember that just because something is common doesn’t mean it’s normal.  Thank you, but I’ll pass on the “new normal”.

It’s always, ALWAYS been about adaptation.  We can’t cheat the system.  We were born to adapt and to trust that health IS an inside job.  We belong in the global ecosystem.  We have a requirement to be connected to each other not only socially and spiritually but physically.  Our individual ecosystem require all the microorganisms we come in contact with.  

The dance created by our bodies and all the bugs, viruses and bacteria we come in contact with determines how adaptable we can be and as adaptability decreases, so does the quality of our health.   Health and adaptability are directly proportional to one another.  Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, the symptoms of the flu or of COVID 19, depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, allergies, etc…all occur due to a deceased ability to adapt.  Period.  It’s always been this way.

How do we then increase our ability to adapt.  Well, masks and staying inside are certainly NOT at the top of the list.   No matter how you flip the coin, masks and isolation do not improve our health.   Neither does finger pointing and spreading fear.  However there are known practices which do improve our health, including the foods we eat, the water we drink, breath work, exercise, the ocean, the sand, the forests, vitamin C, vitamin D, chlorella, spirulina, echinacea, laughter, social interaction and physical touch.  Seeing each other smile (mask-free) actually produces immune system enhancing neurotransmitters.   As my dad would say, put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Neuroimmunology  tells us that a properly function nervous system is the foundation for health and life in the body.  Chiropractic care has always been about increasing the body’s adaptation by ensuring a well functioning nervous system.  

I want my kids to know that they are not victims of a scary natural environment, but that they’re strong and adaptable and that the world IS their oyster.  Fear is sometimes a life-saving emotional response.  Not this time.

Our personal freedoms matter.  It’s not a left or right issue and it’s not a liberal or conservative issue.   Is it ok to question the power of a panicked world in pursuit of impossible safety?   I’m thoroughly confused as to why it would be ultra conservative to suggest that we should have choices all the way around?   I want my boys to know that it’s ass backward and NOT acceptable to lock healthy people up in their homes with no choice.  They should know that living our lives and loving those around us is who we’ve always been.  We never taught them about “stranger danger” when they were smaller.  We only taught them to trust their gut.   And now…the last thing we’re going to teach them is to see everyone as carrying an invisible weapon which necessitates hiding.  I also want them to know that it’s not naive or ignorant to trust that they have an expansive potential, and that it’s “normal” to not know what’s around the corner.

At the end of the day, I really wish we were all in this together.  But fear, anxiety and finger pointing are naturally divisive and incongruent.  Deep down we all just want to be loved, to be touched, to laugh and to be inspired.   Maybe this is the thinking of a dreamer…well I’m down with Napolean Hill’s thinking that “Dreams are the seedlings of reality” .  

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”  - Anatole France