I am sure to become ill, I cannot avoid illness. Illness is an inevitable part of the human condition. In the machine that is the human body, there are many moving parts, which can malfunction at any time. The way we grow, develop, and evolve is so incredibly delicate there is not much room for error. This is the miracle of existence: that we even exist at all!

The human body is about self-preservation. It does everything possible to exist. We have the ability to, consciously, give our body the proper diet and exercise it needs to maintain peak performance. Likewise, we can consciously harm it through improper actions. Much of the harm we do to our bodies is unconscious. We develop these unconscious habits in our eating, postures and work habits, and the consequences of these actions bear fruit much later in our lives. I will talk more about this in future posts.  

Constructed into the very code of the matrix of life, is illness. The reality is that no matter what you or I do or do not do we will not be able to avoid illness. It is a universal law that in our form of existence, in order for anything to live another living being must die or decay. This is true on both a micro and macro level. From the virus to the lion, every living being depends on the reluctant sacrifice of beings who desire to live as much as the next.

This is not a call to surrender or to lead a life of heedless excess. I am not suggesting that anyone who is ill simply throw his or her hands up in defeat. In understanding the very fact that illness is natural, you understand two things.

One, you should live a healthy life to the best of your ability. When I purchased my last car, the Consumer Report review stated that the rear brakes were one of the flaws for this vehicle. They wear out fast and are expensive to replace. This was not a deal breaker for me. I really loved this car so I was willing to accept this defect. Both having the knowledge and accepting the reality of this built in flaw empowered and informed my actions. I was not going to be the kind of driver who tailgates and races from stop light to stop light standing on the brakes all the time and then be shocked when they wore down.

Second, if you have lived a relatively healthy lifestyle you can live guilt free should you be afflicted with illness. There is nothing wrong with you! You are not broken, bad, a special case or any of those things. You accept that illness is part of living just as growing old is part of living. There is no one to blame; there is no “being” who is testing your faith or punishing your sins; Illness is an unpleasant fact of life but still a fact of life, and when seen clearly you can still live the life you have left to the fullest. Learning to neither embrace nor reject the fact of illness is the path to peace. It is what it is.