Old and New
"We do not solve our problems,
we outgrow them."
Carl Jung
Modern medicine is at its best in the emergency room or trauma center repairing
broken bones and patching gunshot wounds. Under such conditions, resilient,
young bodies can in some ways be "put back together again."
However, the process only works in "some ways" and for "some
times." Too often, emergency rooms have regular "visitors"
who require recurrent repairs. For them, major repairs need to be done not
on their bodies, but on their inner parts which cause bodily neglect and
lead to breakdowns and mishaps.
I recall several times in my medical past when "well-known" patients
arrived at the hospital ward or clinic waiting to be admitted. A common
refrain from doctor, nurse, or technician was, "Why Mr. So-and-so,
it's you again. Oh, don't worry. We'll get you back to your old self in
no time."
Sadly, this was often the case: The medical workers did some bandaid work
and got Mr. So-and-so "back to his old self."
Unfortunately, the real problem was Mr. So-and-so's old self. And, when
you and I get sick, it is likely that the real problem is your old self
and my old self.
More often than we care to think, it is the old self, our outworn ways,
our obsolete ideas, our tattered emotions, and our plain old bad habits
which get us in trouble. They eventually and recurrently cause us pain and
conflict, dis-ease and distress.
And, it is New Self which we need to look and work toward to bring about
true health and well-being. It is the clear mind, the heart of flesh, and
the pure soul which assures productive and fruitful lives.
The doctor and the nurse of the future will work to bring forth the New
Self and the promise of health with It. While we wait for them, we can be
even now be laying the groundwork for the New Arrival.
|