The Best of All Possible Worlds

So I made it through a case of bronchitis and not once did I take any of those damn antibiotics my doctor tried to foist on me (just say no to drugs, kids!). Antibiotics are his answer to everything. Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill some more. He probably weeds his garden with napalm.

I stuck to ginger tea, marshmallow root, sleep, green food, and got used to the idea of coughing up lots and lots (and lots) of phlegm. But that's what the body is supposed to do - get rid of whatever is making it sick. But for some reason, we are led to believe that we must never, ever, ever feel bad. Not for one second. Have a cough? Suppress it. Have a runny nose? Make it stop! Don't let your body cleanse, it might be...uncomfortable. Well no thanks, Dr. Quackenbush.

I think this idea has permeated the rest of my life as well. I've been so afraid of confronting painful situations such as arguments and confrontations that I've forgotten that it might be useful pain to go through. For example, maybe I get into an argument with my wife but maybe I come out knowing something new about how I feel or what I want. If I keep looking at arguments in isolation, I'll never learn that seen in the context of my life's continuity, there is always something to be learned from them. I'll avoid the argument, miss the growth, and make the situation worse than when it started.

Maybe it's an American thing. Maybe we carry around a sense of entitlement to always feeling pain-free, trouble-free, and without any obstacles to our own desires. The right to pursue happiness is sacred, so screw everything else.

Or maybe it's just my hangup. I'm willing to own that.