I was updating the tagline of my twitter profile the other
day. Most of my networking platforms gathered dust for 6 months during the
move. Without much conscious deliberation, I added balance point surfer to the list after author, publisher, etc. It
wasn’t until a twitter contact queried whether that was some new variation on
riding waves on a board that I thought about the precise meaning of what I’d so
casually listed.
 |
| Are you riding forward on the balls of your feet, or back, reeling on your heels? |
Balance is a common meme in my muse. My new residence aboard
a sailboat has only increased that focus. Here is what I replied to the twitter
query:
balance
point surfer – tracking the moving nexus of tipping point lines, between
health-conscious and health nut, stressed and too-laid-back, east and west,
intro and extro-vert, logical and mystical...
standing,
balancing on that spot, knees bent, leaning forward, [intuiting/gauging/feeling]
through wave, current and wind-born spin-drift.
That’s not particularly precise. But descriptions of the
myriad forces arrayed on either side of the scales could go on indefinitely. It’s
also a many-layered puzzle, almost chaotic, julia set-like. Almost any term
used to describe a particular weight can itself be sub-divided into balanced
components. The process that carried too far, is dizzying (and unbalanced.)
Russell, I saw your blog and wanted to share with you. Because T2 has inadvertently assumed the name Diabetes, there's so much confusion. For most of us T1's, it's not about "not wanting to be associated with T2", it's about clarity and ended the animosity between the groups. Confusion = Conflict. Nearly 2,000 signatures in under 2 weeks - We are moms of Type 1 children who have filed a petition to revise the names of both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes to more accurately reflect the nature of each disease. We tried to do this in a way that benefits both the Type 1 and Type 2 communities. We sincerely hope that we have accomplished our goal to make this petition benefit all of us. Please click on the link below to view our petition on change.org and please read it in its entirety before passing any judgement.
ReplyDeleteWe respect your opinion if you choose not to support the petition. We apologize if we have offended anyone in any way with the language or purpose expressed in our petition. We truly tried to look at our petition from the position of all within the diabetes community and it was certainly not our intent to dismiss anyone's feelings or needs. We thank supporters, and non-supporter alike, in advance for taking the time to read and consider our petition.
Thank you,
Jeanette Collier & Jamie Perez
http://www.change.org/petitions/revise-names-of-type-1-2-diabetes-to-reflect-the-nature-of-each-disease
Maybe your initiative could help with the confusion. I do believe Diabetes is a spectrum disease, with quite a few of us at points in between the classic T1 and T2 definitions, but the autoimmune difference overshadows the similarities. I, of course don't really agree with the western medicine approach for either. But nothing will change if we don't keep these kinds of discussions going.
ReplyDeleteRussell