There was a quote in our centre for years, on the wall above our adjusting tables…
”It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye”. Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Think of this, in terms of health & daily life.
You can’t see oxygen, but find yourself under water too long or beyond base camp on Everest and your body will be sure to tell you you’re in need. You can’t see the internet, but without it, how could we function without our social media? And of course, we can’t see our spine or nerve system either, but try convincing a paraplegic, whose nervous system can no longer control their legs, that their life will be exactly the same before and after their injury. It gives us perspective, and an appreciation of just how important these systems are to our health & well being.
As an eight year young child, I recall spending working days in my father’s cancer lab at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. What an amazing experience it was the first time I put down the pipettes to look into a microscope. After learning the one eyed technique, I got good enough to prepare my own specimens, slides & cover slips and got to appreciate a great deal in this new world. It was an amazing experience, but nothing at all like the first time my father let me look into an electron microscope, and what a world this opened, at his new laboratory at Agias Savas hospital in Athens, Greece.
So it was at a young age I began to value and appreciate the complexity of life that exists beyond the things we see. Not only in things that are “invisible to the eye”, but as well those for which we need to train ourselves to appreciate a different, new, and distinct perspective or point of view.
Thinking well is a skill we can learn to cultivate. Years ago, one of my mentors, Dr. Stephen R. Covey, whose legacy remains, shared this about perspective. He said that “our paradigm of the world is our perception of reality”. He shared that, in essence, our paradigm, or how we see the world, is our interpretation of events based on experiences had, stimulation received or teachings understood.
A paradigm shift then is to have a sudden change in perception of the way you see your world. These “ah-ha” moments or breakthrough moments serve as points of maturity, growth and enlightenment not only in life, but in health too. However, in order to have them, you must first be willing to let go of the other previously held belief.
For example, when you look at the picture above, what do you see? Many people see the old lady, but if you look long enough, you’ll eventually start to see the young lady with the hat too.
Although it is possible to hold both pictures in your mind’s eye at the same time, it is very difficult. Much easier is to let go of the one and focus on the other in order.
And so it is with health, although we try to hold on to two different realities of how we can manage our health, in many ways, this is what holds us back from experiencing more of what we want and need from Chiropractic which offers to us all a new way of valuing what is most important to our health.
And so it goes in life, in order to more clearly see and value what is important to our health, we must learn to see beyond what our eyes see and or what our mind sees and trust what others see in order to follow a path that will give us more of what we want in our life.
To learn more and join our practice community as we fulfill our mission and vision for the GTA to become the most wellness oriented city in North America, please join us for our next Living Well Workshop, a special “Movie Night” showing the film, “Doctored Inc.”, Wednesday, March 27th, 2013 at the Vellore Hall & Cultural Centre (Weston & Rutherford Rd.). Doors are open at 6pm and the event runs from 6:30-8:30pm. Water, juice and healthy finger foods to be catered by Drs. Gus & Jacqueline Tsiapalis’ mom, Mrs. Ephie Tsiapalis.
Tickets on sale, but limited. Call Anna or Fazia today at Vaughan Chiropractic at 905-850-0909 to reserve a ticket for you and a family member whom you love.
