Image by Jennifer Capestany
I was on my way out to shoot a video on a wild, medicinal plant (horsemint), when I got to thinking about how precious time is, and how many times in the past that time was stolen from me while I was still looking to Western medicine for answers to my various health issues.
Health is near and dear to my heart. As those who know me already are aware, I dealt with numerous chronic health issues. My journey to take over my own roadmap to healing from a medical industry that's infested with bad information and gigantic corporations that are more concerned with making money than helping us to heal is what led me to become a clinical herbalist. This is my usual crusade, and to my mind it ties into my feelings about liberty and anarchy. The notion that we can reach for as much liberty as possible in our everyday lives without taking responsibility for our health requires a level of cognitive dissonance that I just don't have. Hence, my ramblings on how NOT taking charge of your health will impact your personal freedom.
Being the Captain of Your Own Ship
Since I seem to like the number 3 (and also gas. Apparently gas expenditures bugged me so much that I said it twice!), I came up with 3 ways that putting your full trust in Western medicine can impact your everyday liberty. Obviously there are many more ways that your life can be negatively impacted. I also know that doctor visits are sometimes necessary, even for alternative-minded folks like me. Most of Western medicine's failure lies in chronic disease care. There's no question that if you are having a medical emergency, especially a life threatening one, modern medicine is what you'll need to keep you alive.
My point is simply that self-ownership is absolute. If you are working to embrace liberty in your life, then you must also own your health, own your body, own your mind. Issues come up. That's life, but I see so many people around me
- putting their complete trust in modern medicine
- taking the pharmaceuticals and eventual surgeries that they are told to take,
- and continuing to do the very same behaviors that got them sick in the first place.
When it comes to your individual self and your health, you have to be the captain of the ship that is YOU. The doctor is not in charge of you, though his/her ego will often have them believing that they are. Pharmaceutical companies are not in charge of you. Insurance companies are not in charge of you. Government is not in charge of you.
You are not helpless. YOU are in charge of YOU. As individuals, we need to take some of the faith that we put into modern medicine, and put it into ourselves, where it belongs.
Outtakes - At the recommendation of some of my Chat pals, I included a few of the MANY fails that happen while recording these videos. Hope you enjoy! Swear warning in the outtake section by the way. Be warned!
Other Posts You May Like
- EVERYDAY LIBERTY: 3 WAYS TO LIVE FREER (VIDEO)
- Ask an Herbalist Video 1: My Story & Favorite Medicinal Plant
- FINDING THE WILL TO CHANGE - IS MOTIVATION A THING?
- On Insecurity
Author: Jennifer Capestany
Jennifer is a clinical herbalist and health coach, specializing in autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. Her interest in plant medicine led Jennifer to spend years studying herbology, physiology, and nutrition. She works one-on-one with her clients via her herbalist and health coaching business, Prairie Hawk Botanica. Jennifer lives on a homestead in rural Texas with her husband, 2 children, and various animals. In her spare time she loves to be in her large herb and vegetable garden. Sharing herb knowledge and her love of natural healing with others is her calling. Steem and Bitcoin accepted.