Friday, January 30, 2009
I have a problem
I feel compelled to say to myself:
:)
If I love splenda, then I want cancer. Wait...what!??!
I love Splenda. Yep, that little yellow package of chemicals specially designed to be indigestible by my digestive system sits disturbingly high on the list of technological discoveries that I would not want to live without. (Also on the list are air conditioning [common, I live in
Apparently (according to my googling) the top ten ‘causes’ of cancer are as follows: tobacco products, carcinogens, viruses, bacteria, genetic predisposition, nutrition, advanced age, sunlight, cellular phones and oral contraceptives. Some of these are quasi no-brainers. Tobacco (it’s covered in explicit warning labels,) and carcinogens (which are actually defined as “a substance or agent causing cancer.” My only response to this massively redundant point is an oh so eloquent….duh. Virus’ (like the Human Papilloma Virus [HPV]) and bacteria (h. pylori) are far more frightening, if only because we cannot control them. Emphasis falls almost solely on prevention and education since these viruses cannot be cured (only controlled) once contracted, and bacteria are largely opportunistic, generally infecting tissues weakened by already established cancer. Genetic predisposition, advanced age and sunlight?!?! I guess we’re all just screwed. Cellular telephones: I really thought that this one had been debunked; apparently it still proliferates despite a distinct lack of reliable proof. Nutrition (and obesity) has a pretty valid claim, I think we can all agree that prolonged disregard of the nutritional needs of your body will result in some less than pretty and positive outcomes. So we come to my favorite, oral contraceptives. Oral contraceptives are perhaps the most frustrating of all that make up this not-so-comprehensive list of carcinogens. Studies have shown that prolonged use of oral contraceptives increases a woman’s chances of breast, cervical and liver cancers. Simultaneously it decreases their chances of ovarian and endometrial cancer. WTF?! If you are like me, this list probably frustrated you a bit, makes you feel a bit helpless that some of the leading ‘causes’ of the terrifying C-word are things that you cannot control. Is that why we continually claim to have “figured it out?” Comfort in ‘knowing’ where it came from but impotent to change it?
Now I’m not saying that we should stop looking, or searching or asking these questions. (Heck - I'd be out of a job.) I’m not suggesting that we stop adjusting individual (and often inane or inconsequential) behaviors and commit to healthier more sustainable lifestyles. I’m suggesting that we stop pretending like we have all the answers. I’m suggesting that next time a smoker is diagnosed with lung cancer that we not all sigh internally and think “well, they should have stopped smoking.” If we’re going to take that attitude then we’re going to have stop going outside during daylight hours, eat a raw food diet (heterocyclic acid found in cooked meat = bad,) avoid alcohol, oral contraceptives, cellular phones and mass transit (bacteria proliferates after all.) No more Splenda, fluoridated water (i.e. all water,) caffeine, pasteurized or unpasteurized milk or x-rays when we break bones. If you burn your toast? Don’t eat that either. Also…stop masturbating, that’s been linked too.
It’s a frustratingly comprehensive list that’s discussed in the most absolute of terms. I know that articles espousing “now that we know the cause…we know the cure” are written to give hope to those battling a terrifying and dangerous disease. I don’t mean to demean or belittle that hope. They need it and we all need it. But does admitting that we don’t know it all yet preclude hope that there is a cure? That there are answers?
As for me, I’ll eat my orange every morning for breakfast, and wash it down with my foamy/fizzy coffee with Splenda.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
I Believe in the Resiliency of the Human Soul
History shows us that we live in a world that has born and continues to bear witness to unimaginable suffering stemming anywhere from quirks of nature to ignorance and hatred. In terms of ranking, a broken heart doesn’t even register on the same scale as genocides, extreme suppression of expression and the denial of basic human rights, or true social tragedies. Nevertheless, mending a broken heart, a hurt that seemed indeterminable, has given me respect for and belief in the resiliency of the human soul.
A few months back, a person very dear to me walked out of my apartment and out of my life with no warning and very little true explanation. While I have always considered myself to be independent and strong, this loss laid me to a low that I had never experienced before. Generally a proponent of keeping personal issues away from the work place, I crumbled and spent days sitting in my coworkers’ cubicles just to be close to another human being while I grieved. I lost 30 pounds distressingly fast, cried in public more often than I ever would have considered acceptable, watched all 5 seasons of Grays Anatomy on DVD, left town every weekend for months and lost interest in everything from food, to sleep. As it always does though time passed and the fog slowly lifted. My soul began to heal.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
365 days of forgiveness
-- Yolanda Young
I have learned that familial ties grow and change in leaps and bounds, not gradually. The introduction of new relationships of differing strengths and characteristics forces these old relationships to change, and sometimes these changes hurt. The hurt is worse when the changes in question are being enacted on something that, in its longevity we naively assumed to be unchangeable. So sure, it hurts and it takes more time than you might like to stop hurting. It might take longer than you'd like to truly forgive when you feel wronged or betrayed. But the forgiveness (on all sides) in the end forges new bonds. Stronger, more flexible, more appreciated and hopefully more able to endure.
I have learned to be more discriminating with the use of the term "friend," both expressed to others and within my own mind. The sting of false friendship is something that most people discover in secondary school, apparently I was sufficiently antisocial to have avoided this! Up until now. :) I can blame-game recently proved-to-be-false friendships on any number of circumstances and people but it all boils down to poorly placed trust. To rectify this within my own consciousness I concluded that such people (while not intentionally or or innately malicious) simply weren't deserving of my friendship or high regard. Along with this was an unrecognized belief that friendship and forgiveness be withheld together. Really though, it's the opposite: they don't deserve the energy that is inherently given towards a grudge, and forgiveness will free me. In forgiving their actions I free myself from wasting energy, from unwanted angst, and for more worthy people and things.
-- C.S. Lewis
I believe that holding grudges poisons the soul. Given this belief how can I not work towards forgiveness? 2008 kinda stunk. 2008 definitely left its mark. From the stinky-ness and hurt of 2008 I take the knowledge that while it may take time, patience and a whole lot of concerted work, that forgiveness is worth the effort.