Search For Balance

At my school, there have been a number of “outbreaks” that have thrown everyone into a frenzy.  Most notably, there was the “swine flu” and the “norovirus.”

The swine flu came first and gave the whole school a big scare.  Posters were put up around the campus about hand-washing and proper ways to stay healthy, security guards and receptionists were no longer allowed to touch students’ ID cards, hand sanitizers were strategically placed in just about every corner of the school, and anyone diagnosed with any sort of flu-like symptoms were immediately quarantined and sent home.

Similarly, when the norovirus started to circulate, it caused another great scare.  This caused the administration to force buffet dining areas to be completely hands-free.  This meant that students were no longer allowed to cut or toast their own bread, make their own salads, or do anything else that involved picking out food with or without utensils.  Only servers with gloves were allowed to touch anything.

Naturally, I’m not saying the administration was wrong to be vigilant about contagious illnesses; however, some of the policy changes that came about due to these two outbreaks have caused difficulty in regards to my job as a desk receptionist as well as inconvenience in my ability to enjoy my meals.  The whole situation has caused me to think more about how we handle and react to illness.

Not to insist that my choices have necessarily been the cause, but it is true that I have not fallen ill with anything more than a minor cold in the past three years following my decision to turn down every and any form of medicine or drug.  As a disclaimer, it is true that, though I tended to come down with something more serious at least once per year, I have always been a pretty healthy person.

My ultimate goal is not to promote or criticize any specific lifestyle, but to merely offer a new way to think about illness.

One of the things I’ve considered, following the health craze, is how we label germs and bacteria.  These things are spoken about as though they should be avoided at all costs.  Of course, here at Search For Balance, nothing in this world can be considered to be inherently bad.  In other words, there is a problem with the way we talk about germs.

You’ve probably heard someone tell another about spiders.  It may have been you being told that, though many people dislike them, spiders are important for keeping other insects from killing flowers and gardens.  They may seem gross or unpleasant at first, but that’s not the whole story.

This same logic can be made with germs.  What if, instead of thinking of germs as harmful bacteria that eat away at our bodies and make us sick, we look at them in another way?  What if we think of germs as little particles that enter our bodies and are consumed by our cells in order to make us healthier and stronger?  Both arguments are true, and yet both paint germs in a completely different light.

Considering the second statement, I would want to have more germs in my body.  But if I have too many, I can get sick.

Considering the first statement, I would avoid having germs in my body.  But if I have too few, I can get sick.

So what’s the difference?

Whether we have too many or too few germs in our bodies, we will get sick.  In order to really be healthy, we need to…

Oh, of course!  Search For Balance!

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