Curious

I’ve been reflecting these last few days on the emphasis placed on the Coronavirus vaccine as if it might be the miracle to solve all our problems. 

I suppose I’m curious really because I didn’t think we’d had too much success in vaccinating against viruses in the past. No one has yet found a vaccine to counter the common cold, for example, and while there is a flu vaccine, people still die from flu annually. 

I’ve been trying not to think too much about the animals that are currently being tested upon, presumably against their will, in the race to find a vaccine. I have less concern about the human guinea pigs because I presume they have given their permission – goodness knows what other effect they might discover that is not immediately obvious when the draft vaccine is injected directly into the blood stream, bypassing the body’s natural defences, but that’s not for me to concern myself about. 

Well not for now. But it has highlighted to me how we each hold such different views, not simply on vaccinations but on health and the immune system and fear too. My fear of is of negating my body’s own natural healing capacity by injecting directly into my blood, all manner of things which I won’t be informed about (and probably still not, even if I ask) but will likely include metals and animal products, potentially compromising my immune system and making me more at risk of auto-immune disease.

Others will be more fearful of getting sick from a virus because their immune system is not strong enough perhaps, or they are just literally fearful of getting sick, so would rather inject themselves with something that might prevent them from getting sick, at least in the short term, but might have much wider long term effects that will never be known, because the vaccine will not have been tested on anyone for very long so the correlation (if there is one) will be overlooked. 

This is not to begin a debate about the pros and cons of vaccination, or to judge or abuse others. This is more so that the whole subject makes me very curious, in terms of human behaviour and choices, and our relationship to our bodies and our understanding of health and wellbeing, and what we might do, naturally, to strengthen our immune systems.

I suppose it is this that has made me more curious than anything else – curious why there is not more government directive, or any sort of directive now I come to think about it, about how we might promote our own natural immunity at this critical time. That’s the bit that doesn’t make a huge amount of sense to me, given that our health (or the threat to our health) is front line news and has the whole world in lock-down (I always feel that dramatic music needs to be played when the word is mentioned (not because I don’t take it seriously btw, just because the word is so severe!)).

 It is perhaps reflective of the reason that the NHS is struggling. As fantastic as it is, and as amazing as the staff are, it cannot cope with all this sickness. We are not a well society. We are sick. The Coronavirus is highlighting this. I wonder at which point we should, individually and collectively, be therefore taking greater responsibility for our wellness, so that we don’t need to lean so heavily on the NHS and other medical services to help save us.

See that’s the thing, the NHS or other medical services might be able to save us, but they cannot make us well. They might stop us dying, and they might be able to regulate us with drugs and ease some of our suffering, but they cannot actually make us heal. Only we can heal. Our bodies heal from cuts and bumps and bruises, and our body heals from viruses through rest and recuperation and good food, as Boris Johnson is doing now. 

There follows that only we can really do what is necessary to strengthen our own immune systems, and only we can truly affect our overall own health and wellbeing. This of course comes down to a number of factors, not least what we put into our body, and our relationship to our body (are we constantly punishing it with our negative thoughts and our excessive or non-existent exercise regime)  but also the manner in which we are living our lives individually and collectively. 

 I have a sense that this pause, this break from all the rushing that modern life entails, and this opportunity to get outside and exercise and breathe fresh air will be naturally healing us and strengthening our immune systems. However it is possible that juggling children’s’ education with our own work schedule will be compromising this a little with the stress it brings and the coping mechanisms we engage to help us, such as drinking excess wine and eating junk food!

 But heck, it’s not to judge, because we are all doing the best we can in this unusual and yet memorable time in history. And who knows how it will unfold, and what lesson we will learn and whether it will ultimately lead to us becoming a more conscious, healthy and well society and planet. That’s my hope, but only time will tell and until then I shall stay curious and keep questioning my fears and triggers!