BAD VIBES

I am a big believer in alternative medicine. This does not mean, however, that I would never go to a Western physician. Trust me, if I were walking down the street and someone drove by and put a bullet in me, I'd want to be taken to an MD as soon as possible. In other words, I believe it is wise to defer to Western medicine in the event of a medical crisis. I do not believe in it, however, nor do I rely on it, for health maintenance. For that I much prefer the alternative approach.

I'm having a bit of a problem though. Lately I'm hearing from the alternative camp about the impact of negative emotions on health. It's all connected, you see, to this thing about acidity and alkalinity in the body. According to the alternative medicine group, the body should be slightly alkaline for optimum health. I've heard one or another of their representatives, for example, mention that every one who has cancer, if administered a ph test, invariably tests acidic. Conversely, a perfectly healthy person is always alkaline. They even claim that if a cancer patient were to restore their alkaline levels the cancer would disappear. Supposedly a cure for cancer is that simple. I don't know.

Anyway, getting back to the negative emotions problem, it seems that negative vibes can actually cause the body to be more acidic, which is something you don't want. An acidic body is a disease-prone body. Now, to be sure, the Western medical camp would probably agree that negative feelings are certainly not healthy. I mean, aren't they the ones who are always going on and on about the adverse impact of stress on health? So what is my problem?

It's like this. You see, I've also heard that it's unhealthy to keep things inside you, all bottled up. You're supposed to be honest and express your true feelings.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm getting mixed messages. I don't know what to believe. The only solution seems to be a form of withdrawal. Think about it. If I'm keeping up with current events, and I care in the least about what's happening in the world, I can't help but get a little frustrated when I see people I consider to be morons getting elected to high-level public offices. That's a negative emotion. If I give expression to my feelings about it, it somehow reinforces the negativity, making it even worse. If I don't express it, well ... that seems to reinforce the negativity as well.

I frankly don't know what to do. I've thought about it, and rather deeply, and it always comes back to basic caring. The problem is that I care in the first place. Therefore, at least it would seem, the solution is to stop caring. And that means that I should stop watching any news programming, totally detach myself from the insane world of current events, completely immerse my soul in good movies, books, music, food, walks in the park and so on.

Basically, I need to cop an attitude. And of course take a cue from the Good Book:

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God."

(Ecclesiastes 2:24)

Sounds like the dude is saying that God wants us to have a good time.