It Has Always Been This Way

The other day, someone asked me, “Did you talk to a doctor before changing your diet?”  They were referring to my vegetarian diet, not this cleanse.  I laughed heartily inside.  I wanted to ask, “Did YOU talk to a doctor before deciding that fast food should comprise a major part of your diet?”  Of course, I didn’t.  Instead, I just responded, “Yes.  I talked to my chiropractor.”

He stared at me.

My chiropractor knows more about my body and my health than any physician I have ever had.  I see him a few times a month.  He asks me how I am doing.  He asks if anything is bothering me.  He takes the time to explore any issues I might have.  He’s always willing to take a few extra minutes answering questions.  There isn’t a pain he hasn’t helped alleviate.  He knows when to recommend a traditional doctor.  He’s a kind and gentle soul, and he cares about my well-being.

Someone asked me if I had talked to a doctor about this cleanse.  What do you think my answer was?  Yes.  I talked to my chiropractor.

I’m not saying that previous doctors haven’t.  But you tend to go to them when something’s wrong.  They don’t seek to know you as well, to understand your life and your body.  It’s not bad.  It’s just different.  I prefer my chiropractor’s care as a first line of defense over just about anyone else.  So, please don’t judge me when I tell you that my chiropractor is my doctor.  Both he and I know where his expertise ends and the next person’s begins.

We all struggle with doing something that flies in the face of what we believe to be conventional wisdom.  That is one of the main reasons for complacency.  Who on Earth are we to question the establishment?  It is, after all, established.  It is uncomfortable for us to push that envelope, to ask that question, but it is downright unprofitable for the establishment when we take that moment to stop in our tracks and ask, “Why?”  A child can quickly test the patience of any adult with one too many questions.  It isn’t very different when adults question other adults.  We just tend not to question, so we lose sight of the fact that, given sufficient questioning, the apparently normal adult might resort to physical violence!  I exaggerated a bit, perhaps, but the truth is that nobody likes to be questioned.

And that is precisely why we must question.  It is how we grow, as individuals and as a species.  It has always been this way.