Natural Health and The Renaissance Man
Modern medicine has shown enormous development but somewhere along the line it has lost touched with the human being. The bedside manner, the holistic view of the patient appears to be a thing of the past in scientific medicine. I am definitely not against modern medicine. I wouldn’t have survived if I was, but then I wouldn’t be here either if I hadn’t combined the two. (Its a long story to do with an accident and a head on crash with someone driving on the wrong side of the road).
As an amateur student of history I have always been fascinated by Renaissance and the period following the end of the Middle Ages. Apart from the wars and power struggles, the idea of “universal” men like Leonardo Da Vinci and Roger Bacon has always struck a chord in me. Today we have experts in everything. People specialize in their subjects but for the most part are ignorant of anything else. This way of looking at things tends to be simplistic. (This is a good place to state that I am not an expert - or want to be).
I suppose it is easier to look at an organ, and not at the person. Easier to treat, study and develop practices or medication for the symptom and not the person. In previous times, in all societies, health was seen and treated as an integral part of the person and not as a damaged part.
The good news is that there is a growing tendency to return to the wisdom of those who came before us. I am seeing members of the medical profession studying modern medicine and alternative medicine. I am sure the results, including preventive medicine, will be reflected in greater natural health.
Any type of extreme is self defeating, be it religious, scientific, ideological, medical or whatever, as it pre-judges and limits any real growth.
Change is always with us and it looks as if the pendulum is swinging back. What I like is that it is carrying the benefits of modern medicine with it.
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