To change your life, you need to change your priorities.
~ Mark Twain
We are what we prioritize personally and collectively.
What we continue to experience in 2022 reflects what we have prioritized in the past. The chaos is a wake-up call. We can do better.
Our lifestyle habits and consumption patterns cannot continue as they were pre-pandemic.
Profit for the elite has come at the expense of our collective health. We need a more equitable distribution of wealth, assigning value to what matters most - family, early childhood development, prevention of harm and health care.
Interdependence is human nature
The proverb warns that ‘You should not bite the hand that feeds you.’ But maybe you should if it prevents you from feeding yourself.
~ Thomas Szasz
Humans are hard-wired to connect, and commune with nature.
When we become specialists, focusing on the one thing, we become dependent on others. How we treat and compensate those that feed us, maintain our homes, care for our children and our health is reflected in our experience.
There is something to be said for greater self-sufficiency. Being a generalist has merit. A holistic approach to life that looks at the whole person in context and promotes living sustainably and harmoniously in our environment is wise.
A sense of entitlement to personal possessions, rights and freedom without personal responsibility and gratitude serves no one well.
When we outsource what we cannot do, we have to express genuine appreciation.
What we give and take should be equitable for our well-being.
We need to change priorities when it comes to health
The cheap pulverized and reconstituted food-like substances that food and drug agencies have made abundant for all, make us vulnerable to infection.
Incentivizing the production of sustainably produced, fresh, whole, clean, local, seasonal food and drink is fundamental to our collective well-being.
When I see the escalating rates of opioid overdoses, it is evident that our medical schools, pharmaceutical industry, drug regulatory bodies and policymakers have caused collateral damage with their teachings and have not prioritized physical and emotional pain relief.
When liquor stores supply rapid tests promoting alcohol consumption, it becomes clear that health is not the priority - numbing is.
When public health organizations interfere with childhood learning and natural immunity when the risk of infection is minimal, patients are created for life.
When the air we breathe is toxic we are vulnerable.
We are witnessing the collapse of trust in public health agencies, prestigious medical journals, the elite, academia and the media that have quickly embraced herd thinking. The scientists with dissenting views from the current narrative have been silenced, slandered and censored. Open and free discourse and independently funded research are the way forward.
Closing thoughts
Let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the basis of that.
~ Dalai Lama
We are powerful beyond belief. That which we focus on becomes our identity.
Families are the building blocks of society. If we don't feel safe at home, we will not thrive.
Someone has to prioritize the health and well-being of family members above all else. That role has to be valued by society. Public health agencies have to allocate more resources to social determinants of health - where we live, learn, work and play.
Healthy families = Healthy communities
Healthy communities = Healthy countries
Healthy countries = Healthy world
Indeed we are what we prioritize. Let us prioritize what matters most.
Peace of mind and health start at home.
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