Thought of the Day II
A STATEMENT ABOUT MY HEALTH
Be Nice
Not far from where I discovered that piece of political poetry I posted yesterday, these two little words stared up at me from the footpath. I was walking to the Launceston General Hospital to meet with my specialist after he conducted a biopsy just two weeks earlier. Most of you will understand what that means, and the apprehension I felt as I neared my appointment. Often people will say, “Have a nice day.” We mean well, but in truth it is far more important to be nice to others in our actions. I’ve said it before, but “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” www.flickr.com/photos/luminosity7/51273912570/in/album-72...
These little words in blue on the pavement before me were a reminder that if we want people to treat us in a certain way we need to first of all be nice to others too. One of the worst things I have ever said (when lying to myself about the essential nature of being) is, “I don’t care.” Because in the end, if we stop caring about others and their well-being, not only will they have reason not to care about us, but we can even begin to stop caring for ourselves. The French philosopher, Michel Foucault, wrote a trilogy of books near the end of his life entitled, The Care of the Self. That’s not being selfish at all, because if we really want to be cared for, then we need to care for others too. Being nice is a two-way street.
I am so blessed to live in a country that values the healthcare of all its citizens. Our Medicare system in Australia is not without its problems, but it sure is better than the alternative where healthcare is determined by one’s ability to access money, the best doctors and private hospitals. All the most serious surgery in Australia is carried out in our largest public hospitals, because they have the best funding and the best surgeons. Australia's public health care system was born because a Prime Minister named, Gough Whitlam, had a vision for a better society. And 50 years after he was deposed (look it up, the oligarchs and CIA didn’t like him), his vision remains strong. A universal public health system in Australia is simply a non-negotiable now. The most radical Neo-Liberal wouldn’t dare touch it. Elections are won and lost in this country over it. And we can afford it partly because we don’t spend so much of our GDP on military spending. There’s a lesson there.
So I walked into the specialist clinic with a smile on my face and a new found commitment to be nice. I waited and waited (as often happens in a busy public hospital), but when the tea lady came around and offered me something to eat and drink I wanted to be nice to her. When the doctor apologised for the wait, I said with genuine feeling, “That’s no problem at all.”
Thanks to that anonymous street poet, I for one recommitted myself to being nice.
The nice doctor smiled and told me he had some positive news. They had discovered a non-aggressive form of cancer in my prostate, but with active surveillance (that’s the term used for stage one of this disease these days), we should be able to treat it. It’s a funny thing to learn that renegade cells, which could under certain conditions kill you, are resident in your body. But the important thing is we know they are there, are watching, and will take the necessary action when required to defeat them. I’ll be okay to face any challenge ahead of me. The most important thing is to stay fit and healthy, eat well, and remain as stress free as I can.
So as I walked back to my parked car, I felt the stress melt away. Being nice as much as possible is a wonderful antidote to the stressed out way of living that we are often subjected to. As Dr Martin Luther King, Jnr once said, “I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” The best way to defeat hate is to live with love in your heart. Did you notice that heart next to the words on the pavement too? Be nice is another way of saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
“When peace like a river, attends my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, You have taught me to know
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Is_Well_with_My_Soul
So please my friends, listen to your body! Men over 50, get regular prostate checks. Women, please do likewise for breast and gynaecological cancers. Early detection is the key to survival. And please, let’s be nice to one another.
* I found the piece “Spiegel im Spiegel” by Arvo Pärt so moving more than 30 years ago, and I listen to it over again quite often. Listen as the piano and cello sing to each other. There is a true inner peace to be found here:
Spiegel im Spiegel for Cello and Piano (Arvo Pärt)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZe3mXlnfNc&list=RDFZe3mXlnfN...
Please note that I will only respond to comments of those who have actually read my statement.
Thought of the Day II
A STATEMENT ABOUT MY HEALTH
Be Nice
Not far from where I discovered that piece of political poetry I posted yesterday, these two little words stared up at me from the footpath. I was walking to the Launceston General Hospital to meet with my specialist after he conducted a biopsy just two weeks earlier. Most of you will understand what that means, and the apprehension I felt as I neared my appointment. Often people will say, “Have a nice day.” We mean well, but in truth it is far more important to be nice to others in our actions. I’ve said it before, but “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” www.flickr.com/photos/luminosity7/51273912570/in/album-72...
These little words in blue on the pavement before me were a reminder that if we want people to treat us in a certain way we need to first of all be nice to others too. One of the worst things I have ever said (when lying to myself about the essential nature of being) is, “I don’t care.” Because in the end, if we stop caring about others and their well-being, not only will they have reason not to care about us, but we can even begin to stop caring for ourselves. The French philosopher, Michel Foucault, wrote a trilogy of books near the end of his life entitled, The Care of the Self. That’s not being selfish at all, because if we really want to be cared for, then we need to care for others too. Being nice is a two-way street.
I am so blessed to live in a country that values the healthcare of all its citizens. Our Medicare system in Australia is not without its problems, but it sure is better than the alternative where healthcare is determined by one’s ability to access money, the best doctors and private hospitals. All the most serious surgery in Australia is carried out in our largest public hospitals, because they have the best funding and the best surgeons. Australia's public health care system was born because a Prime Minister named, Gough Whitlam, had a vision for a better society. And 50 years after he was deposed (look it up, the oligarchs and CIA didn’t like him), his vision remains strong. A universal public health system in Australia is simply a non-negotiable now. The most radical Neo-Liberal wouldn’t dare touch it. Elections are won and lost in this country over it. And we can afford it partly because we don’t spend so much of our GDP on military spending. There’s a lesson there.
So I walked into the specialist clinic with a smile on my face and a new found commitment to be nice. I waited and waited (as often happens in a busy public hospital), but when the tea lady came around and offered me something to eat and drink I wanted to be nice to her. When the doctor apologised for the wait, I said with genuine feeling, “That’s no problem at all.”
Thanks to that anonymous street poet, I for one recommitted myself to being nice.
The nice doctor smiled and told me he had some positive news. They had discovered a non-aggressive form of cancer in my prostate, but with active surveillance (that’s the term used for stage one of this disease these days), we should be able to treat it. It’s a funny thing to learn that renegade cells, which could under certain conditions kill you, are resident in your body. But the important thing is we know they are there, are watching, and will take the necessary action when required to defeat them. I’ll be okay to face any challenge ahead of me. The most important thing is to stay fit and healthy, eat well, and remain as stress free as I can.
So as I walked back to my parked car, I felt the stress melt away. Being nice as much as possible is a wonderful antidote to the stressed out way of living that we are often subjected to. As Dr Martin Luther King, Jnr once said, “I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” The best way to defeat hate is to live with love in your heart. Did you notice that heart next to the words on the pavement too? Be nice is another way of saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
“When peace like a river, attends my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, You have taught me to know
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Is_Well_with_My_Soul
So please my friends, listen to your body! Men over 50, get regular prostate checks. Women, please do likewise for breast and gynaecological cancers. Early detection is the key to survival. And please, let’s be nice to one another.
* I found the piece “Spiegel im Spiegel” by Arvo Pärt so moving more than 30 years ago, and I listen to it over again quite often. Listen as the piano and cello sing to each other. There is a true inner peace to be found here:
Spiegel im Spiegel for Cello and Piano (Arvo Pärt)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZe3mXlnfNc&list=RDFZe3mXlnfN...
Please note that I will only respond to comments of those who have actually read my statement.