Carpe Noctem: Seize the Night

Chanukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa - all are holidays celebrated with lights. There are many who have written about the lovely symbolism of points of light in the dark. But on this longest night of the year, I'm reflecting on the blessings of darkness.

We speak of hibernating mammals as though they were species separate and apart from humans, but they are merely on the far end of a spectrum on which all living beings stand. On long winter nights, all living beings are meant to gather in towards home, to eat rich root vegetables and to sleep more to replenish their essence. The dark of winter is not something to be banished: it's a phase of life's cycle that renews us for the coming of the light.

At times we may find ourselves - in any season - in a winter of the soul. It's natural that at such times we might wish for light. The Buddhists have a different approach, which I've found so useful in adversity: they remind themselves in dark moments that everything at this time is exactly as it should be. When we recognize darkness as appropriate, even desirable, we open ourselves to its hidden wisdom. We evolve, and emerge into the light more deeply connected to the sources of our strength.

I know that each time I have traversed a dark tunnel, I have greatly increased my capacity to feel joy. How has the darkness blessed you?

copyright 2009

Half-time

"In the game of life, there is nothing less important than the score at half-time."

I've not been able to find a source for this quote, but how wise it is. I no longer believe in coincidences and therefore, when this quote came into my awareness this past week, I greeted it like an old friend.

It's been a busy fall, with lots of travel and other interesting and wonderful interruptions to routine. This weekend, when I checked my fall to-do list, I found that I'm not quite as far along as I'd planned to be. I can think of times in my life when this would have upset me badly. This week, as an antidote to this realization, I balanced my to-do list with a "done" list: a celebration of what I have accomplished recently, whether or not it was on the original plan. This new list included some interesting detours from my planned route: an extra lunch with a dear friend, initiation of a new exercise strategy, discovery of a fascinating new website that makes statistics - including many health statistics - friendly (www.gapminder.com), etc.

I don't want to lose sight of my original objectives, and will therefore rework my to-do list tomorrow morning so as to ensure progress on them in the near future. But I'll look carefully at the timeframe I allow for that progress to take place: short enough to make a difference, but just long enough to allow for a few more detours. After all, it's only half-time...and I'm still in the game.

copyright 2009

Activism from the Heart

In the tiny California coast town of Mendocino, which I first visited back in 2003, I hardly expected to encounter a vibrant Jewish community. So I was delighted to find not only a community that cares deeply about each other but also about the world they live in, as reflected in regular, well-attended projects of heartfelt service. The foundation and inspiration for this caring ethic is their leader, Rabbi Margaret Holub, whose regular essays in the community e-newsletter I've followed ever since. This month she poses challenging and profound questions on the nature of service, which are resonating deeply with me as the year-end holiday season draws near. Rather than restate her message, I'll let Rabbi Margaret speak for herself; see her essay "Activism and Action" here: http://mcjc.org/mjoldart/Megillah/mjmm200911.htm

Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Healthcare Reform: What's the Real Issue?

This week I attended a vigil for healthcare reform with a public option organized by MoveOn.org: http://moveon.org/. Quietly but with urgency, a series of people financially broken by our current healthcare system reminded those assembled that we mustn’t miss our current historic opportunity to increase accessibility to healthcare resources. Accessibility is certainly a key issue: how can we, as the wealthy nation we are, stand by a system that denies coverage to so many of our most vulnerable citizens?

Those that oppose a public option seem most concerned with the projected cost. This is a valid concern, especially as we watch Medicare, our existing model of a public option, slide towards insolvency. To address this concern, we must ask ourselves what basic factors are driving what have become out-of-control increases in the price of healthcare. While I don’t claim great expertise in such matters, it doesn’t take a genius to see this glaring issue: the care offered by the current system is too expensive and not adequately effective…and we can do better.

When did we decide that all health issues must be resolved with pharmaceuticals or surgery? In the emergency room these tools are invaluable, but in primary care they’ve been woefully ineffective. An example is the current epidemic in Type II diabetes, one of the most preventable conditions there is. Current standard practice is to throw medication at Type II patients, rather than empower them to manage their health effectively within their nutritional, exercise and stress management practices. The medications may be effective at lowering blood sugar in the short-term – although there are many exceptions to this - but in the long-term they simply create dependence on an expensive solution which often diminishes in effectiveness over time, necessitating more and more medication. Meanwhile, patients are left to continue the habits that created the diabetes in the first place, which in all probability doom them to poor health down the road, necessitating vastly more expensive healthcare interventions. In such a system, the cost of healthcare only spirals upward. (For a shocking look at the annual cost of diabetes, follow this link: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics/cost-of-diabetes-in-us.jsp)

Medicine that empowers people to achieve health through lifestyle undoubtedly carries a significant upfront cost, but the benefits in improved short and long-term health and the reduced need for expensive long-term intervention are undeniable. Currently, licensed professionals that provide such preventive services – acupuncturists, naturopathic doctors, and nutritional counselors, among others – are often deemed unsuitable for reimbursement by insurance companies. Can we step away from the pharmaceutical-driven, insurance-policed model long enough to ask ourselves what it is we really want? Do we want more health, or more of the same?

Up Against a Brick Wall?

A monk was assigned to build a brick wall for his monastery. Not having laid bricks before, he worked hard to learn how to lay the rows evenly. It took him a long, long time, but finally his work was done. He stepped back to survey it, and was mortified to see two bricks out of line near the bottom of the wall. At this point there was no fixing the crooked bricks; it was time for him to move on to his next project in the monastery. He felt ashamed, but there was nothing he could do.

Several months later, the monk was guiding a visitor through the monastery grounds. The visitor passed the new wall and commented how nice it looked. The monk, feeling mortified again, asked the visitor how he could say such a thing – didn’t he see the two bad bricks which spoiled the wall? “Yes”, the visitor replied, “I can see those two bricks. But I can see the 998 good bricks as well!”*

We’re in the dog days of summer. How many of us are halfway through the year and disappointed in ourselves for not making progress on our New Year’s resolutions? How many of us are chastising ourselves for carrying extra weight or not exercising as much as we could have? How many are frustrated because our to-do list is growing rather than getting shorter?

When we look at ourselves, it’s easy to see what’s negative and to focus on that to the exclusion of everything else. The trouble is that a narrow focus on the negative with accompanying self-criticism can bring us to a state of paralysis with respect to our goals. It’s never too late to achieve what you want to achieve, and you can make it easier on yourself by taking the following into account:
· Treat yourself with the compassion you’d extend to your best friend. If your friend was having trouble sticking to an exercise regimen, would you criticize her? More likely you’d listen, help evaluate why the results hadn’t yet been achieved, brainstorm possible solutions and cheer your friend on. Be your own best friend.
· Don’t do anything because you think you “should”. Act from conviction about what makes sense for you, keeping in mind that you are unique. What’s important for you to do and how you get there may or may not look like what others are doing…and that’s cool!
· Set up support. Find others you can turn to for ideas, feedback and encouragement. So many things in life are easier when shared.
· Reward yourself! Daily, acknowledge what went RIGHT today and allow yourself to feel satisfaction about it. Set up milestones along your path towards your goals, and celebrate each time you reach one.

Keep your eye on the big picture, and allow that there will be missteps along the way – we’re all human, after all! If it’s health issues you’re working on, let me know how I can support you in achieving your goals. You can count on me to listen and help you formulate solutions as unique as you are. I’ll be there to support you, reminding you of the 998 good bricks in your wall. And I’ll cheer as loud as you do when your goals are achieved!

*from the writings of Ajahn Brahm

What's the Story?

At my doctor’s office this morning, I found this delectable quote from chef Dan Barber in the August ’09 Martha Stewart Living magazine:

It’s what unfolds every morning at the farmers’ market – not just food grown in the right way and picked at the perfect time, but food with a story. Even in our most auspicious moments in the kitchen, that’s better than any seasoning you or I could provide.

Storytelling is one of humanity’s earliest art forms, one that still resonates with most of us today. Most children I know love having stories read or told to them. Stories underlie many of our holidays: what would Christmas or Passover be without the retelling of the ancient stories that gave rise to the celebrations? And aren’t the most interesting people we meet people whose life is a richly-textured story?

The idea of food with a story is very appealing. The vibrant colors, textures and aromas of farmers’ market wares speak volumes about the generosity of the land, the challenge of growth in unpredictable weather conditions and the care of the farmers and food artisans. As Barber points out, there’s no comparison between open market food and the tired variety found in supermarkets, often processed beyond recognition, taste dissipated over miles of transport…food with its story silenced.

See you at the farmers’ market.

Slow Food, Slow Money, Slow Medicine

“Every dollar that we send into ‘the market’, disconnected from our beliefs and our values, disconnecting us from one another, from our communities, from the land, is an act of surrender. No market victor, no Dow Jones Industrial Average record, can compensate for this surrender.”
--Woody Tasch, Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money

The above quote, written in the wake of the Madoff debacle, gives us much to ponder about our society’s preference for instant gratification in lieu of more sustainable practices. If we look, we find this tension in every major aspect of our lives. Think of our preferences for convenience foods and industrially-farmed produce over the real thing, for ego-stoking gas guzzlers over smaller vehicles or public transportation or for swallowing expensive pharmaceuticals for common ailments rather than taking day-to-day responsibility for our health.

Fortunately there are visionaries in our midst who, though they appear less in the headlines than the Madoffs, encourage us to recreate a society on the foundation of the common good. You can read more about Woody Tasch and the Slow Money Alliance at http://www.slowmoneyalliance.org/. We’ve been blessed for many years with the efforts of Carlo Petrini and the Slow Food Movement: http://www.slowfood.com/. I’m inspired by these people, whose actions are solidly grounded in their commitment to the long-term health of individuals and communities. Who inspires you to live in line with your highest values?

With the current administration’s interest in creating a more accessible, affordable healthcare system, it’s time for such visionary thinking to emerge from the medical ranks. The USA is second to none with respect to emergency care. But our primary care system, equipped only with pharmaceuticals to resolve issues with simpler, more affordable solutions, is among the most expensive and least effective in the industrialized world. It’s time for the emergence of Slow Medicine: a primary-care system that supports us in taking responsibility for our health through sustainable, life-affirming practices in our homes and communities.

Counting my Blessings

I've completed my training as a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine! Next I face the challenge of creating a practice that will place Nature’s medicine into the world. At this juncture, though, I am moved to stop and recognize all the blessings I have received – still receive – that have enabled me to come this far. In that spirit, I've decided to dedicate the first dollars I earn as a doctor to charity.

There is an organization called Modest Needs whose work has captured my heart. Modest Needs serves people in financial emergencies for whom a specific dollar amount given today can mean the difference between safety and eviction, between obtaining medical care or not, or between food and hunger. A beautiful feature of this organization is that givers can log on at www.modestneeds.org and review the applicants’ requests for assistance in their own words. You will see the total dollar amount needed and how much has been raised to date. You can view the applications by type or length of time outstanding. All applications have been prescreened for legitimacy: the organization’s data tracking shows that the vast majority of donors have made only one request, during a true emergency. It also shows that many of the recipients, grateful for the help they received in their need, have become subsequent donors.

I’ve reflected on why this organization’s work so touches me. I very much like the setup, in which each giver can choose the particular recipient and cause that will receive his or her donation, and that 100% of each donation is applied to the selected application (there are separate opportunities to fund the organization’s administrative costs, for givers so inspired). Perhaps it reminds me of when I was 15 and we nearly lost my Dad in an automobile accident, which could have cost me my college education and even the family’s sustenance had he not been fortunate enough to survive. Or perhaps it reminds me of my Dad himself. After he survived that accident, he lived a life exemplary for its celebration of each day and moment. There was no wasted time, no insignificant human interaction. When I organized his records after he passed away, I found pages upon pages of charitable donations, most to small charities. Every worthy cause was significant to him and moved him to action. Raised to be fiercely independent, he would have understood what it takes for the Modest Needs applicants to swallow their pride and seek the support they need to get by.

So when I asked my friends and family to join me in counting our blessings, how moved I was when their offerings, added to mine, totaled nearly $2800. These funds covered the needs of nine Modest Needs families, keeping them from slipping into poverty in these hard economic times. There are really no words to describe the joy I felt when, one by one, I received thank you notes from each of the nine families - yes, all of them - letting me know what a difference we made.

I wish all who read this the blessing of being unafraid to ask for the support you need, the blessing of living as your largest selves, the blessing of appreciating the abundance in every person and every moment.