“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”

 --Charles Dickens, “A Tale of Two Cities” March 1859

I woke up this morning with the beginning of this quote running through my head. It seems like a deja vue; as a people we have somehow been here before. Those words were published 161 years ago. These times of pandemic viral transmission are like none other we have faced in our lifetime, yet as humanity we have walked this path before. The fear, the loathing, the suffering, the hope and the despair encircling our mindset. It seems we’re constantly asking ourselves what do we do, what do we choose, how do we live, and what choices do we make?  I am both a realist and a dreamer. As I watch and experience the suffering that people are facing, the realist in me wants an answer, wants the solution so we can fix everything right here and right now. Find the cure. Find the solution. Take immediate action and get rid of our fears.

As a dreamer I must wonder and dig deeper. What does this all mean and what is the undiscovered meaning to all of this? As a healer I need to ask where is the imbalance within each of us and how then do we proceed to find our own balance? How do we re-align our immune systems? When I first studied all things scientific, i.e., chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, microbiology, and biochemistry, I was fascinated by the incredible order of things. It boggled my mind that there was a place, a relationship, and a balanced structure between things living and non-living. From all things microscopic, that we cannot see, to all things macroscopic, that are visible, there is this innate connection that runs between. There is a connection that makes sense in a rather awesome way.

When I studied the human body, and the silent workings of how our bodies function without us having to do anything at all, was when I said, ‘it’s a miracle’!  At some moment in time, I came to know and truly believe that our bodies are fully capable of healing at the deepest level. Without help, without us.  Is that true? In my heart, it is the deepest truth. However, we, and our environment, and chemicals, toxins and yes, even emotions can stand in the way of our own healing.

How do our bodies fail? Something can go awry within its internal communication, signals get crossed, self doesn’t recognize self, our skin gets cut and things like bacteria and virus enter through the bloodstream, we knowingly or unknowingly eat or drink toxins, we breathe in toxins.  We get angry and fearful, and our hormones go on fire.  So many things can go wrong; so many things can set off alarms in our bodies.  The beauty is that our bodies have inner workings to deal with and handle most of these problems, that is, until some things are in too great quantity or too many things over too much time for our bodies to recover.  So, what does this all mean to us today in this time? How does this help us?

I looked at this current pandemic of Covid-19, and how it started as a respiratory illness attacking the lungs so people could not breathe. Of course, now we understand it becomes much more complex as it also affects our gastro-intestinal system, our cardiovascular system, our kidneys, our brains and on and on.  It moves along continually attacking all the areas that are already weakened to begin with. It attacks our most vulnerable and weakest spots. To me it presents the strongest case for being healthy in the first place. A virus generally does not want to kill its host—the virus needs the host to replicate and live. It cannot survive on its own. So, the host will die when its own immune system is not strong enough to ward off the virus literally sucking its energy, sucking its nutrients.

So how did I get to this discussion from my title, FROM FEAR TO COURAGE?

In my attempt to understand this in its totality, I thought about the Chinese system of classifying organs. In fact, the lungs are named as the source of 2 emotions, Fear and Courage. I would always explain this to patients in this way, ‘when you increase fear, there is no room for courage, and when you increase courage, there is no room for fear.’  Of course, there must be a balance of both in the full understanding of Yin and Yang. For there to be light, there must be darkness. One is not necessarily good nor bad. But there must be a restoration of the balance. In these times, it is obvious that our fears can certainly outweigh our courage.

I encourage everyone to look within and do a deep dive assessment. Where are your weaknesses, your frailties, your vulnerable areas? Look to not only body, but to your thinking and your deepest feelings. Ask yourself, ‘where do my deepest fears lie?’

It is only by looking directly inward can you truly know what needs work. Remember that the body is capable of healing; it needs your assistance. It is time for assessment. It is time for recreating. It all begins with personal health and then moves outward to affect our families, our friends, our enemies, our planet.

And remember, take the time to “make your body a better place to live”.

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”  - Thomas Edison