Being patient

Here we are in 2012 – might be an exciting year...

With the economy, environment and even society all moving rapidly in a downward direction and stress coming from all sides, I’d like to dedicate the first blog entry of the year to something we probably all wished for on new year’s eve. Something we all need – good health!

When we are ill, we usually become a Patient and go to a Doctor. But what does it actually mean, being a Patient? And who's a Doctor?

Although the origins of the word have to do with suffering, PATIENT, in common use, means to be able to wait. Of course there are the waiting rooms in each health centre, but being a Patient is much more than that. Looking at illness and the healing process leading to health, patience is possibly the most important remedy for any complaint – giving your body and mind time to rebalance.
While quick treatment is vital in the emergeny room, with pretty much all other problems it’s best to allow for a slow approach to getting better. That doesn’t mean that it always has to take forever, but taking copious amounts of drugs to speed up healing is not really what being a patient is about. The best cure for a nasty cold is still to have three days of hot lemon and bedrest. Everything else might be good for the pharmaceutical industry or your employer, but it won’t provide what a sick organism most needs – time.

Fast-food has become almost a religion, we love fast communication, we value fast transport, fast careers, fast growth. Fast, faster – who’s fastest? What is it with our 21^st century’s obsession with speed? What is wrong with slowing down?

Looking up DOCTOR in the dictionary, this is the first definition that comes up: ‘A teacher; one skilled in a profession, or branch of knowledge learned man.’ 'From the latin docere – to teach.’
This means that when you go to a doctor, ideally you would be taught something – that’s what you would expect from a teacher. The reality looks very different though: Impatient patients give the responsibility of THEIR health to the doctor, who takes on the role of a car mechanic – that is, fixing things.
Despite massively increased wealth and scientific advance, the people on this planet are as sick as they always have been. Just the names of the diseases have changed.
The problem is that, really, we have hardly learned anything yet. And how can we, without guidance from a teacher? And without wanting to take responsibility for our own health?

So the next time you see a doctor, ask for some decent advice on how you can improve your health. If your doctor doesn’t want to teach you anything, find someone else who will. Whether it’s helpful information related to diet or exercise, the power of the mind or what to do with gut feelings – there is so much to learn! All we need is a little patience.