Inspired By A Quote

I wouldn’t be surprised if this quote attributed to Buddha is the subject of more than one post today.

“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease”

I first saw it as a tweet from Mike Rosenberg of Planetree. It’s been on a mental fridge sticky note ever since. I even chose it for the preface of my book because it speaks to multiple aspects of my autoimmune LADA diabetes.

photo by micrognostic

I AM the author of my condition. While there is undoubtedly a genetic component I can’t take credit for, the trigger, pulled at age 49, was all my doing. I was the poster child of the great American lifestyle, guzzling beer, devouring whole pizzas and half gallons of full butter fat ice cream. French fries and ketchup were my vegetables. The only processed foods I shunned for fear of toxins were low fat substitutes and artificial sweeteners. But I was slim and healthy. Hell, I was Superman. I thought I was even managing to endure without consequence the stress of my corporate management job.

Until a routine checkup revealed what I’d created with half a lifetime lived like that. I’d unknowingly blended precisely the right ingredients for an awesome challenge. Not just plain old “regular” diabetes, mind you, but a supposedly irreversible variety guaranteeing a shorter, complicated life, punctured daily with shots of insulin. Yup. I’d authored a doozie of a disease.

Sit back and wait for reviews? That’s what my inner victim advised. He said, “The universe has dealt you a hell of a blow. Why not sit back and at least indulge in a little pity-wallowing?” But Buddha advises otherwise. Authoring the disease was just Scene 1 where the villain is revealed and the challenge proffered. I must write the rest myself. The ghost writers of western medicine have foreshadowed only a boring, depressing ending. I will instead lead my hero through an appropriate number of exhilarating car chases and explosions to a place of superior health. He and I will learn and grow, succeed against all odds, and do it on our own terms.

Thank you Buddha for illuminating my sole responsibility for my disease and my health.

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Refusing The Needle: A Diabetic’s Natural Journey To Kick-Ass Health by Russell Stamets

ebook available for all devices at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145608

and for kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P6L5C4

tags: type 1, type 2, autoimmune, diabetes, lada, natural, alternative, diet, supplements, acupuncture, meditation, lifestyle, HAWMC