Endings

Every culture has its rituals for dealing with death and mourning. When a loved one passes away, part of us dies with them. In a very immediate way our life is changed; we must relate to the world without their physical presence. We must end those habits that mapped out our lives together. No matter how painful their suffering, the absence at their passing is acutely felt. Divorce too, after a lengthy relationship, is often a most painful ending. It has been described as bereavement without a body. The same emotions and thoughts often arise – Why didn’t I ....., If only I’d......, What was he thinking? How could she.....? Apart from the anger there is often numbness and feelings of emptiness at the prospect of a future alone. However it happens, all relationships end, which leaves the reality that, in every life, pain must be endured.

In the natural cycle of life, death precedes birth. The frosts of winter kill off insects and plants in preparation for the abundance of new life in spring. As human beings we carry the learning of our years from one season to the next and hopefully, if nurtured carefully, we have the resilience to withstand the emotional pains of life so that we grow in both stature and maturity. Unfortunately, our progress is often blocked when we shy away from endings for fear of the unknown beyond. After the inevitable grief cycle components of denial, anger, bargaining and depression our progress may stall if we become locked into self pity, bitter recrimination or self loathing.

Each person must deal with endings in their own way and to their own timetable. There are no shortcuts. There is no way out, except through. Many have attempted to find shortcuts or coping strategies rather than face the pain, but inevitably these prolong the suffering and often deepen it. During the initial stages of bereavement our cultural rituals provide a form and structure for coping with the immediate necessities. Comfort and solace from friends and family help us through the numbness but the weeks and months, or even years, that follow are often much more difficult.

Since the pain of change is inevitable and must be endured we do well to incorporate into our lives healthy ways to cope. Indeed we can adopt daily practices that increase our acceptance and resilience by incrementally tracking change. That way the impacts from life’s larger events are more easily absorbed. To me the most valuable practice is the daily expression of gratitude for what has happened for us and what we learned from it. It is often said in relationships that ‘The little things are the big things’, so we may find ourselves thankful for those little but vital things that we otherwise take for granted – clean air, food, shelter, the smile on the face of a child; love in its simplest and most common expressions.

Life stage endings can also be met with gratitude – for shared years of happiness, for the joy of children, for the release from pain, for the learning and achievement that came from joint endeavour etc. We can give ourselves permission to grieve our losses by adopting familiar rituals. Kenny ‘The Monk’ Moore wrote of his corporate transformation work beginning with a ‘funeral’ for long established practice that no longer fitted current operations. Others may describe their  errant behaviour on pieces of paper which are then ritually burned to release their hold on the individual.

However you choose, spend some moments today in reflection on the year just ending and let go all baggage that would hold you back from future opportunity. As they say – ‘If God wanted you to look backwards, he’d have given you eyes in the back of your head’.

Thyme

This marvellous herb is known to contain compounds that break down arterial fat deposits and so can improve circulation. It is cardioprotective. So too Omega-3 fats from fish oils are known to increase HDL cholesterol which returns lipids to the liver for recycling rather than permit oxidised cholesterol to build plaque deposits. Two examples of how our bodies benefit from a rich and varied diet of natural foods. Health conscious individuals take proactive steps to nourish their bodies’ first line of defence. Their attention is rewarded by robust good health, greater energy levels and a zest for life.

I often wonder what equivalent nourishment makes our organisations healthier places to work. Perhaps it’s the humble act of listening to our colleagues and considering their contribution instead of steam-rolling our own agenda forward?  When we know we’ve made a mistake, apologising for it to the group rather than trying to cover it up or blame someone else? Owning our part in misunderstandings that raise tensions improperly and ‘counting to five’? Stephen Covey called this ‘Pressing the Pause Button’. All such actions promote healthy interpersonal communications between individuals and within groups and departments.

If we’re accustomed to a ‘My way or the highway’ autocracy then these healthy habits can be difficult to adopt. But just imagine the consequences of such action within the leadership team at the heart of an organisation. The volatile, autocratic leader stifles debate, demoralises and alienates staff. Instead of energetically contributing their ideas and energies, staff engage in protectionism and withdraw. Your best staff will be more focussed on their exit strategy than on delivering the organisation’s agenda. Recent events in the Middle East illustrate the atrocities that occur when leaders lose their connection with the people they serve.

There is much speculation on the mental health of dictators and undoubtedly there are stresses attributable to that style of leadership – both for the individual and their country, organisation, or family. Eventually the system will fail, dictators are overthrown or, like Stalin, allowed to die without comfort or help. A chronic illness leads to an unlamented death. But in such situations something else dies – the vitality of the organisation and the integrity of the leadership team. There has to be a better way. Leaders need the support of honest and timely feedback to stay healthy. If ousted in a coup d’etat their assailants are seldom better than the figure they depose.

So what would organisational Thyme look like? What practice, steadily implemented, can challenge and remove outmoded processes and maintain a good flow of ideas? What practice encourages ideas to flow freely through all parts of the organisation without risk of ‘thrombosis’ – being unnecessarily and dangerously blocked?

Blood chemistry changes only slowly in response to a healthy lifestyle, but change it does. A healthy blood profile is a clear indicator of a body in balance. Strong and willing participation, low staff turnover and satisfied customers indicate a balanced, healthy and responsive organisation.

For Organisational Thyme think Organ Methylation (almost an anagram L) and consider what you need to do to maintain the energy in your part of the organisation.

Ungoverned World

It is easy to imagine that our world is ungoverned when we see the tectonic changes to world order that have taken place over a few decades. Certainly it seems that the world we have known is passing away. Our instinctive reaction is to resist such change. When we think of the world as an ecosystem, of which we’re an integral part, we’re presented with a broader range of considerations. To what extent should we oppose change? To what extent should we embrace it? What is the healthy thing to do?

I’ve come to think of myself as a cell in the body of the world. I have a distinct function as part of a family, a community, even in a national organ, as part of an interdependent whole. In my own body my heartbeat, breathing, digestion and immune systems etc all function unconsciously to maintain my health. My conscious mind is aware of so little of what’s going on yet, when I deliberately establish optimum conditions for nourishment and development, everything works wonderfully and my system heals itself. My body doesn’t need to be closely governed. What it does need is love, leadership in the form of purpose and clear intention, and good quality nourishment – clean air, water and food. My organs all work in concert to optimise my overall health. As a healthy individual I am best able to contribute to the health of my family, community and world.

An interesting observation on the human body is that individual organs don’t tend to fight for resources. The body as a whole will do the best it can with what it’s given. Unfortunately it’s often fed unclean water, polluted air and a diet far removed from that which we evolved to eat. Mentally our diet is tainted by the excessive tensions of our modern world and the unrealistic expectations raised by cultural mores. The result for too many of us is chronic disease both physical and emotional. Small wonder that we find discord everywhere

Perhaps it’s human nature to want to feel in control. Our competitive world encourages wealth accumulation and growth so we set about the task of controlling our circumstances. The problems arise when our desire for control leads to the subjugation or domination of others and the wasting of our planet. Instead of living in harmony we set ourselves in contention and we settle for hostile standoffs. In the body physiological and psychological stresses lead to atherosclerosis as the body protects itself. Arteries fur and narrow, putting us at risk of heart attack and stroke should our standoff accommodation break down.  At the national level we build walls to divide communities, plunder natural resources and amass armies to ‘defend’ our interests. If or when these accommodations break down we face annihilation. What kind of madness allows us to think of this as control?

For our long term health we need to return to a very old paradigm. We need to eat what we evolved to eat and we need to relate to others as equals sharing a common purpose and destiny. From this perspective we will choose to oppose those changes that defile us or our planet. We will embrace the changes that enhance self-awareness and control so that we are best placed to contribute to humanity. We will come to the realisation that doing the right thing is the only thing worth doing.

Ghandi famously said ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’.  Ultimately, if we will only change ourselves we can invoke a Higher Power to govern the world. The world will thrive unconsciously all by itself. It can be governed by none yet governed by all.

Happiness Heals

The first step toward finding your own happiness is gratitude. If you develop and heighten your powers of appreciation by focusing on the beauty in your life instead of the imperfections, you will be halfway there. 

Your efforts will be rewarded. Statistics show that people who are happy live longer – they gain both years in their life and life in their years. Their increased longevity results from reducing stress levels and the accompanying stress hormones. These hormones are a vital part of our ‘fight or flight’ defence system and are designed to be dissipated through intense physical exertion. However, modern life induces stresses and generates hormones that have no natural outlet. These hormones interfere with our eating and sleeping patterns and weaken our immune system. Increased tensions also have a corrosive effect on relationships. When our immune system is compromised we invite cancerous developments or opportunistic infections.

Focusing on beauty and gratitude is not to ignore imperfections and pretend they’re not there. Rather it is a deliberate choice to meet our situation with serenity and not to be demeaned by them. Taking positive action to address imperfections is also good for our self esteem. Incremental improvements are cumulative. Over time they help us to become the people we want to be.

In the organisational setting it is also vital to adopt an attitude of gratitude. There is no greater contribution a leader can make with her team than to grow its capability. Frequent expressions of gratitude show appreciation of other’s efforts and encourage them to repeat their winning ways. Happy teams perform better and last longer. Again we add years to life and life to years.  When the organisation as a whole celebrates its successes it helps build that collective sense of purpose and builds its culture. Another vital dimension is that the organisation celebrates widely with its customers, its suppliers and its host community. In the same way that the individual needs to know he or she is valued for themselves within their environment, so too it is important for the cohesion of the organisation that it knows its contribution to its stakeholders. This builds community and strengthens its sense of itself and its purpose.

Ian Drury overcame his incapacity from Polio to make a great contribution to the music of his day. His classic ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’ is both a two fingered jab to his physical reality and a celebration of life. No matter what our circumstances, it is always more productive to focus on health affirming situations than to feel self pity around failure or oppressed by seemingly unobtainable targets for which you feel no responsibility.

What area of your life needs to be acknowledged and celebrated? Is your organisation appreciative of the community which hosts it, or does it consider the employment it provides to be a gift for which the community should be grateful? What is the driving sense of purpose that will bring happiness and healing into your life and add life to your years?

Four Star Planet

There is much excitement among astronomers about the newly discovered planet, PH1, which exists in a system containing four stars, some 5000 light years from earth. In the words of one scientist “It simply shouldn’t exist”. Up to now it was believed that the gravitational forces exerted by the four suns would be such that it would not be possible for the planet’s material to bind together. Once again cosmologists have been presented with a challenge requiring them to think even bigger thoughts.

In our own lives we have daily choices to make about the world in which we live. Our daily routines are largely dictated by family or work arrangements but hopefully not too rigidly so that there is opportunity for exploration and development. Think for a moment about this flexibility. –

·          How readily do we let our habits define us?

·         How uncomfortable are we with change?

·         What does it take to modify our thinking?

·         Do we consider alternative perspectives as complementary or challenging to our own? Or more crudely, do we adjudicate others as right or wrong?

The ease with which we change is largely determined by how heavily we are invested in our existing beliefs.  Older practitioners from any sphere of activity will have acquired the know-how of their trade that equips them to work effectively for their clients. As their clients we are generally content to point them at the problem and let them get on with it. When it comes to our health however, I believe that we need to take a more proactive stance and become learning partners with the doctors, dentists and consultants who treat us. The belief that ‘doctor knows best’ is often an abdication of personal responsibility by the patient or a perspective of arrogance from the physician. As medical professionals dedicate so many years to their training they are not always open to thoughts that challenge their beliefs. And although individuals within the professions may be open minded, the institutions guarding their professional interests may be much less so

The pressing health problems of today require a new paradigm of education and involvement. It is not acceptable that society be bombarded with advertising for processed foods containing excess sugar without also equipping individuals with a basic understanding of the dangers. Nor is it acceptable that the pharmaceutical industries profit from the management rather than the cure of disease. Well established corporate players regard change as threatening. They exert powerful forces in an attempt to tear apart or denigrate alternative ideas as though they ‘simply shouldn’t exist’. But although the truth may be hidden, maybe even 5000 light years away, it cannot be destroyed. Let us embrace the ideas and evidence presented by the mavericks of whatever profession and think the bigger thoughts needed to save the four star planet on which we live.

Darwin Awards

Occasionally I have laughed at the antics on Rude Tube where silly people do silly things. In ‘Jackass’ the movie, these are taken to a different level and daft people do dangerous things.  Finally, anyone familiar with the Darwin Awards knows that they are awarded posthumously to people, who through their idiotic actions, have removed their genes from the human pool.  We marvel at the stupidity of our fellow man displaying varying levels of lunacy yet we don’t even think about the slow form suicidal actions of modern life such as being chronically overweight, drinking excessively or smoking. The outcomes are just as fatal but the extended timescale means the events cannot be captured on a two minute video. Also, since so many of us are in danger, it feels intrusive and uncomfortable to have someone expose us.

In my case it took a hospitalisation to help me change course.  I hadn’t made a connection between my own diet and my health believing that because I was very active I could eat anything I wanted. That I had developed bad habits may have been blindingly obvious to others. Some may even have tried to tell me, but until the student in me was ready, the teacher could not appear.

I’m reminded of my marketing studies where we learned that for an organisation to have a strategic perspective required that it regularly examined its operational effectiveness within the changing environment. It’s all too easy for organisations to maintain momentum in a direction that’s no longer helpful. Markets are opportunistic and unforgiving. If the organisation doesn’t change direction it will die.  Often the organisation’s principals either don’t know what’s coming or don’t believe it will affect them. Either way, ignorance is no more a defence for the business than it is for the individual with his damaging lifestyle. Change programmes in organisations are notoriously difficult. It is necessary, but not sufficient, for its leaders to enounce intention and give direction, because until staff engagement is achieved, true change cannot happen. Cultural inertia in organisations is akin to subconscious resistance in the individual.

By the time an individual’s health has degenerated to the point where they suffer a vascular event, or an organisation enters receivership, independent life may no longer be viable. Survival then depends on the swift and expert intervention of external bodies. Environmental change drives corporate product demise just as apoptosis (self destruction) is accelerated in tissue cells in response to physiological factors. But product evolution and cellular replication are natural processes that of themselves are not life threatening. Indeed, the action of upgrading products or replacing defective cells is what maintains corporate or physical health.  It is much more appropriate to proactively maintain health rather than attempt to regain it after the damage is done. Effective tracking of health performance, be it a personal physical profile or a corporate ‘dashboard’ of key performance indicators can provide warning that things are out of balance. Unfortunately there’s still no guarantee that the ‘patient’ will heed the warning. Evidence of Darwinian misadventure litters the corporate world.

There will always be richly deserved Darwin awards but there will also be daring and mould breaking performances as individuals and organisations expand frontiers.  We marvelled at the world’s athletes in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic festivals of sport, but for me, the truly out of the ordinary heroics belong to Jeb Corliss. Watch his wingsuit adventures in ‘Grinding the Crack’ on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWfph3iNC-k . Maybe we need  ‘Freud Awards’?

Courage of the 4th age

Some years ago when studying for my marketing diploma we considered the end of life opportunities that occur when a rich seam has been exploited and abandoned by the market leaders in favour of something new. For the few specialists who remain there can be a rich market in serving those loyal customers who prefer the old ways. In time their specialism is replaced and their skill and craftsmanship dies out.

For the last three years my father has suffered from advanced dementia and is being cared for in a home. My mother suffers to see him so diminished and frail, so rambling, sleepy or contrary. She clings to her life’s memories of happier days and sorrowful times. At the drop of a hat she recounts tales of long ago believing she’s telling me for the first time. She’s desperate to give away what little money she has left in random acts of kindness saying “There’s no pockets in shrouds”. Table talk is of preparation for departure and as she reviews the obituary columns each day she sometimes sounds envious that another friend has passed away before her. Mum’s days pass with a necessary monotony. Change, at 91, is not only difficult, it’s unthinkable. There is massive comfort in the familiar.

In my early days as a coach, heavily influenced by corporate demands, my primary interest was in how to facilitate change. How can I help this workforce to engage with greater commitment so that they perform better, faster, cheaper and ‘turn on a sixpence’ as the organisation around them ‘adapts to the market’ with another restructuring like a savage game of musical chairs. It literally took a body blow to realign my interests toward health. Now my outlook has changed completely. I recognise that it’s a full time job becoming who we are rather than marching to a drumbeat that’s not our own.

Life is precious, life is brief. Too many of us are so busy on the treadmill that we do not marvel at the beauty surrounding us. Either we never learn to sing our unique song or we’re afraid to listen to it. At every stage, life’s challenges demand courage, from infants learning to walk under the loving eye of devoted parents, to students leaving home for the first time, feeling both excited and a little nervous at the year ahead. Their parents too must change as they adjust to an empty nest. Elderly relatives have to confront their own mortality and perhaps surrender their independence when no longer able to look after themselves. Even the life transitions that we all face require courage let alone the life changing events incurred through injury.

Demographics determine that more of us will reach a 4^th age of health challenges and dependence. Being close to this situation has helped me to appreciate the rich seam of serenity that our elders display and the imperative to live mindfully and appreciatively of this beautiful world, while we can. Lives fully lived display a universal craftsmanship where the challenges are met with courage that inspires us. Let my coaching now assist us in learning from, and contributing to, the legacy of good example so that we hand on the precious skills of courage, inquisitiveness, joy and love that will inspire future generations and whose essence can never die out.

Paul Curran

After the Rain

September has started well. Today is calm, sunny and bright, a welcome change from recent days. Reports speak of the wettest August on record, a miserable experience for children who have only a few precious weeks of holiday between school years. It’s disappointing also for those families whose Bank Holiday plans were comprehensively washed out, at least here in Northern Ireland.

There are as many ways of observing the seasons as there are people alive but I’m struck by my own reaction to the weather. I’ve always plenty to do; my days are always busy come rain or shine but I recognise the zest that accompanies a sunny day.  Mundane tasks are discharged with ease where yesterday they engendered drudgery. Today brings a sense of possibility, of promise. All will be well. Somehow it’s easier to ‘live in the moment’ when the world is sunny and bright.

However, to expect only sunshine is unrealistic. The joy of a sunny morning is proportional to the dreariness of the previous wet afternoon. The satisfaction of a meal is related to the hunger that precedes it. The romance of a new relationship is intoxicating after years of loneliness. In all manner of ways we use the bad times to calibrate the good. It’s an inversion of the saying ‘You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone’. But because these sunny disposition experiences can only account for a small percentage of our lives, it is vital that we learn to ‘live in the moment’ whatever the circumstances so that we can live life to the full. It’s perhaps also important to look beyond the immediate, to the underlying cause and to take responsibility for doing what we can to create a better situation.

Often such work requires introspection – If these dreadful summer rains are due to climate change, how might I have contributed? If these dreadful chest pains are due to angina, am I aggravating the situation through my dietary choices? If a spouse has left, what was my role in the disintegration of the relationship?  Life’s greatest challenges and most painful moments can be pivotal learning opportunities for us if we let them. Significant change requires significant emotional adjustment and the ‘emotional time constant’ is highly variable among individuals. Those with a wholly pragmatic disposition may appear cold or superficial to others but both approaches are arguably necessary firstly to get the transition underway and secondly to embed the acceptance that sustains it. ‘Living in the moment’ through significant change is likely to subject individuals to a rollercoaster of emotions as described by Kubler Ross’s change curve.

Here, in the shadow of Slieve Donard in the Mournes, townsfolk smile as they tell you  “If you can see  the mountains the rain is on its way, and if you can’t see the mountains it’s already raining”. In general our waterbutts are at least half full here and we’ve learned to enjoy a sunny day when it comes along. For myself, I’m learning to live in the moment come rain or shine. I don’t want to live in the past, nor to worry unduly about the future but will choose a way of life which I believe creates the best chances for my grandchildren to enjoy the beauty of this world as much as I have. I’ll also choose a way of life that creates the best chances for me to be here for them.

Today in Newcastle is sunny and warm. Inevitably change, and further learning,  is on the way but for now I’m singing - “I can see clearly now the rain has gone.”

One Body

For as long as I can remember I have constructed metaphors to help me interpret my world. The simplest and most profound metaphor to me is that every individual has a unique role to play in life in the same way as every cell in the body has a purpose and that optimum health requires that all organs are healthy and balanced. Healthy cells make healthy bodies. Healthy individuals make healthy societies.

Many people think that Positive Psychology is ill conceived, that those who focus on the positive aspects of life are unrealistic, unable or unwilling to live in the real world with its sham, misery and pain. I disagree. For me, being positively disposed toward the world places me in the driving seat of my life. It imbues me with hope, it affords me a vision of harmony and it stirs me to contribute.

There is learning to be had in every experience. Life events provide the palette from which our perspectives are coloured. They also provide the motivations and energies that we deploy in filling the canvas of our lives.  Do we use our colours purposefully or do we simply let them run together? Thinking of our lives as pixels on the screen of an ongoing movie of creation we may feel overwhelmed at the insignificance of our role yet the movie only has meaning when viewed holistically. Historians pick over events of ages past and seek to understand the motivations and influences at work. It is said that those who fail to learn from history are destined to repeat its mistakes. We see that in our personal lives as well as those of society. To me the linkage is clear. Everything we choose to be influences the whole of creation.

Action Centred Health is about healthy living. I want to develop a metaphor for health from the cellular level upwards linking the smallest to the largest and taking responsibility for my part. My observation is that when we seek to live an optimally healthy life we stimulate health in everything around us and start to live in more sustainable ways. When enough of us think in this way then the world can be transformed.

But that is not to suggest we should join in ‘lockstep thinking’. We need diversity to stimulate creativity, learning and the collaboration that will awaken us to greater possibilities.  Not only can we think bigger thoughts, we can take responsibility for making a difference in the here and now. Let our uniting theme be service to the greater good of mankind, to God as we know her or how he has been revealed to us. On such a large canvas we have scope for infinite variety of shade and hue. Our task is to bring our uniqueness to this work by deploying our gifts and talents to the best of our ability. Inevitably this will sound naive to many and plain bonkers to many more. Do I care?            Yes, passionately. Life is not a rehearsal, so if you’re going to bother thinking at all, think Big!

What metaphor best helps you through life?

Why are you here? What is your purpose?

What would you most like to learn in life?

Who helps you to be your best?

© Paul Curran, Action Centred Health   

The Journeyman

Some months ago I returned to live in Ireland after many years away. While many things have changed, most notably the troubles, more has stayed the same. This sameness provides the reassurance and comforts of home and respite from the challenges of a restless world.  We all need a comfort zone to which we can withdraw for rest; but we can’t stay there. When our batteries are recharged we must re-engage.

My time away has changed my perspective of the world so that my earlier concept of comfort has changed radically. Life happens to us and we grow. In particular, my illness in 2008 set me on a path of inquiry into health issues and unleashed a passion to change away from my dangerous lifestyle. Since my return I can readily see that my former dietary habits are still maintained within my family. Now, as a passionate advocate of good nutrition, I immediately find myself regarded as subversive. Friends and siblings resent having their diets observed. Even less do they appreciate any suggestions that their choices are sub-optimal let alone downright dangerous. Sometimes attacking to defend, I’ve even been told that since I’m not a doctor I have no credibility when talking of health issues.

Lasting change must be chosen.  My choices are mine alone and if they deserve the respect of others then others must feel that I respect their choices, even when I disagree with them. So my dilemma is one of balancing my desire to evangelise my new found truth with accepting that change must always result from attraction rather than promotion. This actually provides relief since I find it difficult enough to maintain my own dietary disciplines without taking on responsibility for others. My role here is to lead by example.

In ‘The Prophet’, Kahlil Gibrain addresses the temptation to evangelise:-

Say not ‘I have found the truth’. Say rather, ‘I have found a truth’. Say not ‘ I have found the path of the soul’. Say rather, ‘I have met the soul walking upon my path’. For the soul walks upon all paths  

It is often said that people change when the pain of change is less than the pain of staying the same. Although a little defeatist, it was certainly true in my case, so why not generally?  How can a healthy lifestyle be portrayed as sufficiently attractive that people choose to embrace it rather than reject it?  How do we present health as something we run towards rather than away from?

Again Ghandi’s cry “Be the change you want to see in the world” rings loud. People have always been attracted to other happy, healthy people. Being happy and healthy will attract those who want to know your secret. Simply by spending time in your company they’ll come to know it’s no secret at all. So let the comforts and reassurances of your home be centred on love, happiness and health so that your batteries stay topped up and you can engage in the task of illumination rather than coercion.

© Paul Curran

Desdemona

Shakespeare’s Othello was written without understanding of the black man. It’s also a play in which the role of women was so grossly distorted that Nobel laureate Toni Morrison was moved to pen the play, Desdemona, in the 21^st century to right the balance. In it she explores the often unconscious depths of our racial history and reveals our future interdependence.  Desdemona is to be performed at the Shakespeare International Festival in 2012.

In any society where one group is exploited by another, injustice is done and that society suffers. It’s simply not possible to benefit from the richness of talent within society if its people are not given recognition and encouragement. With the production of Desdemona, Morrison seeks to redress the imbalance of Shakespeare’s Othello and reveal the full personality of this talented woman. It offers a glimpse of a fuller, richer humanity in which everyone’s role is acknowledged.

This play gives us a lens with which to view our own lives. Where do we fail to acknowledge or undervalue the talent of those in our families, workplaces, communities and our wider world who want to contribute? Where do our prejudices block our appreciation of their role and disenfranchise them? How productive is the society where a significant section of its population goes unheard? Were we to capture our perspective in an artistic representation of the human form, what would be missing? How healthy could such a body be?

If instead of pandering to prejudice we identify every person as a unique cellular component of the greater body of humanity and we seek to stimulate the optimum health of such cells, then, as with a body enjoying optimum health, we will enjoy a healthy and rich society. Central to this philosophy is the idea that every person has been created with a unique purpose and has value. In an optimally healthy body there are no excess parts and the body is balanced. No organ is more important than any other. Without a full set of parts we are diminished. So too in a healthy society we all play our part to the best of our ability. Everyone is valued, everyone contributes. We can celebrate our diversity knowing we are secure and valued. When one element of society suppresses another, humanity is diminished.

Although slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1833, we are in danger of replacing it with something just as demoralising. Today we see mass unemployment the world over and multiple generations of families without work. We distance ourselves from those on social security to the point of becoming resentful of their need. In the name of efficiency our industries demand ever more from their employees who then sacrifice family relationships and enslave themselves to the insatiable demands of mammon. By dividing society into those who work and those who beg we are driving humanity to the cancerous growth of greed at one extreme, and starvation at the other. There has to be a better way.

Let us imagine all humanity living in harmony and health. If it were, what would be happening in your neighbourhood? What could you do today to live in, and most enjoy, such a neighbourhood? Ghandi  called us to ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’. How will you change your life today in order to live in harmony and health, and in sustainable ways for the future? What will you do to acknowledge your Desdemona and celebrate our racial interdependence?

© Paul Curran,  25^th June 2012

Emotional Antioxidants

Preventive medicine encourages us to protect our bodies with a spectrum of antioxidants that fortify us against devastating diseases emerging from chronic inflammation, damaging toxins and malnutrition. There is abundant evidence that not only can we delay the onset of disease, we can slow its progress so that we maintain a good quality of life well into our later years. A sound principle for good health is to pay attention to its pillars –

·         Good Nutrition

·         Regular Detoxification

·         Stress Reduction

As with conventional medicine however, we too often attempt to address these pillars in isolation, ignoring their interdependence. A holistic approach recognises their interaction and builds our defences collectively. That way we can enjoy a special meal with the family that might occasionally break our dietary guidelines knowing that our primary nutrition is sound. The resulting feel-good factor is likely to compensate for the physiological stresses resulting from our one-off sugar excesses. Exercise too helps to dissipate the stress hormones generated in our lives, so detoxifying our bodies, lowering blood pressure, creating a healthy appetite and encouraging restful sleep.

My most neglected health pillar is undoubtedly Stress Reduction. Whereas I enjoy a varied, fresh and nutritious diet and have a well balanced exercise regime, I’m only slowly learning to live harmoniously with my emotions. Shakespeare told us long ago that ‘Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so’. He’s surely right but when deep in the blues it’s difficult to accept that any thinking has happened at all. I generally find that I’m too ready to analyse, largely superficially, while ignoring the overwhelming contribution of my unconscious self governing my emotional state.

Just as strong adherence to nutrition and detoxification protocols raise our immune system effectiveness, so too regular stress reduction activities equip us with a level of emotional immunity and enable us to recover more quickly from life’s more serious knocks. Kubler Ross wrote of the Change Curve and the emotions most commonly experienced through the process. Experience of a significant life change shows us that recovery does occur, even though the depth of depression preceding it may be such as to temporarily drown us.

I do not believe that we can ‘short circuit’ change and somehow skip over the dark days to awakening and growth. Those who try inevitably crash or get to relive their experiences, often in very similar circumstances, until they learn new ways to live. We’ve all had our ‘Groundhog Day’ experiences. Rather, using life’s disappointments to gain self knowledge and to both experience and accept the emotions of change, ensures that we minimise denial and engage in the transition sooner .

Attend to your emotional health at all times. Create your unique arsenal of emotional antioxidants and they will protect you from excesses of stress. I recommend exercise, meditation, mindfulness and patience over Ben and Jerry’s every time!

©Paul Curran June 2012

Conjugate Health

I started my career designing radio circuits and, in particular, the circuits that go between transmitters and aerials. The ideal situation would occur when one could achieve a ‘Conjugate Match’ because under those conditions maximum power gets transferred through the network. While reading into the theory of these systems I came across a very elegant mathematical proof that said when any one junction is conjugately matched, then the whole system is conjugately matched. Many years later I’ve come to appreciate how true this is for health as well.

In an optimally healthy body every organ is getting the fuel and nutrition it needs, blood flows freely through the arteries and veins, the heart rate adjusts to the demand and the muscles are optimally matched to the workload required. Physically it’s like a super efficient and adaptive system with all organs working perfectly in unison. Things start to go wrong when we introduce stresses beyond the range the body expects or can cope with. For example, the body didn’t evolve to breathe cigarette smoke, drink beer or to eat candy. When we subject our bodies to such stresses it does its best to adjust but inevitably we cause damage. – I often think of eating sugary foods as racing up the motorway in 3^rd gear. We can do it for a while but we won’t be surprised that we damage the car.

Just as often we’ll encounter problems at work. Each person brings their individual talents and personalities to work and everyone wants to succeed. But we’ve all experienced situations where office politics and personalities hinder progress or cause a communication / collaboration failure. In such situations those involved are certainly not ‘conjugately matched’. It’s a world away from the buzzing motivated office full of energetic and helpful camaraderie borne of a shared objective and values.

Each situation has the same cure. In the circuits we look to match impedances to achieve maximum power transfer. In the body we seek the optimum balance between our fuel and nutrition requirements and the foodstuffs we ingest so that we provide the types expected by our gut bacteria. In the organisation we communicate clearly, do what we say we will and generally match expectations and performance. When teams and departments work this way, and consider the needs of their colleagues in the wider business, then maximum power is released into their operations. When they don’t, the stage is set for political infighting, suspicion, lack of commitment or accountability and poor results.

So, how close is your system to being conjugately matched?

·         Are you getting the nutrition, exercise and rest you need to ensure optimum health in your body?

·         Is your workgroup getting the flow of materials, the stretching production tasks and the analysis / reflection time to ensure peak capability and optimum learning?

·         Is everyone in your department communicating clearly and working diligently and collaboratively toward a shared objective?

To restore balance in your system and stop the scream of 3^rd gear, call Paul at Action Centred Health, on 07876 741679.

©Paul Curran,   12^th May 2012  

Pharm Animals

Recently I read ‘Eating Animals’, the shocking book by Jonathan Safran Foer that lifts the lid on modern farming methods and challenges us to think about our attitudes to meat. It is an emotional appeal, and rightly so, as we have become progressively detached from our food sources. Although he makes the case very well indeed, Jonathan does not set out to persuade us to become vegetarian, but rather to have a deep appreciation for the animals and to safeguard their welfare in both life and death.

Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)are now the norm in America and for decades commercial  chicken meat has been produced in densely packed fowl sheds around the world. Animals are herded and flocked out of sight and out of mind. Their growth is accelerated and their days and nights artificially regulated so that their slaughter can be scheduled to match market demands. How have we become so indifferent to their plight? In what other aspects of our lives have we become similarly clinical and detached? Given a moment to pause, what warnings might we take from these situations?

My nightmare scenario is of a world in which humanity farms itself in the pursuit of profit. Many would argue that it’s already happening. We are witnessing an explosion of chronic disease in the Western world most of which can be attributed to diet abnormalities and stress. Obesity, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer rates are affecting ever younger people as we consume more refined carbohydrate ‘convenience’ foods on the run in our competitive 24/7 world. Now, by our mid-fifties, we have created a captive market for the pharmaceutical industries. They have created a bewildering array of pills for our ailments.  So we take our statins, our beta blockers, our anti-depressants, NSAIDS and sleeping pills to get us through the day. Our life expectancy may have been extended but our quality of life has been extinguished.

In a grotesque parallel to the meat we eat, we are ‘pharming’ ourselves out of sight and certainly out of our minds. Aggressive business plans demand that our organisations grow at accelerated rates and that we compete rather than cooperate. We feed ourselves fat salaries and long hours, so that we can go to and come home from work in the dark. We don’t see our families, though we chain ourselves with mortgages so that we can feed our illusions of family living. Surgical or accountancy interventions reshape our bodies, our corporations, to create the lean and mean fighting machines that can win in the arena of our choosing – or more likely, in the arena of someone else’s choosing. We burn out on schedule and retire to a world of medication and suffering.

As with Saffron Foer, I urge that we pause, not necessarily to abandon the challenges of modern life, but to cultivate a deep appreciation for our fellow man so that we can live life to the full and protect our planet for future generations. Let us not waste our days as headless chickens on the conveyor belt of capitalism but become the ‘Organic Free Range Citizens’ we were born to be.

©Paul Curran, April 2012

Attitude of Gratitude

When I found myself in hospital at the start of 2008 I immediately decided to use the time ‘constructively’.  I would catch up with all the reading that I needed to do. I would maintain a recovery log and diarise my experience.  I would exceed my physiotherapist’s expectations. What hadn’t dawned on me, at that point, was that my intentions were simply an extension of the frenetic, compulsive lifestyle that had driven me throughout my adult life. The reality however, was that all my normal controls had failed and that my new driving seat was in fact, a bedpan.

Over the following weeks I came to see things differently.  First I collapsed into my weakness. I felt vulnerable as never before. Mortality took on a personal significance when I needed morphine before having my dressings changed and rolling over in bed.  I found reading was impossibly difficult, my brain just wasn’t working. Keeping a diary was a challenge when I could barely lift the pen. Movement of any kind was a real struggle.  It was scary new territory to be forced to feel rather than think.

Slowly appreciation was happening for me. I looked forward to the shipping forecast, to the nurses conducting routine measurements, to having my IV drips changed, to the medication trolley, to the rattle of teacups every few hours and, as never before, to visits from family and friends whose support provided a link to an almost forgotten normality. I got through the weeks of bum wiping and bed bathing from a hard pressed but ever cheerful team of nurse assistants.  Outside winter was giving way to spring. Inside, my regimented impatience was melting from the flow of human kindness and the dedicated professionalism of the staff.

Today I notice things I never saw before and appreciate deeply many other things I’d formerly taken for granted, like simple sunshine, budding daffodils, running water, deep breathing, country walking, fresh food and, most of all, every smile or tear on a human face. Tomorrow holds promise of sweet and sour experiences to calibrate my life. For now there is real joy in good health, in purposeful work, in every mouthful of food and every moment shared with friends.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery and today is a gift we call the present.

How are you using it?

What is making today really special?

When you turn off the light tonight what will you be most thankful for?

© Paul Curran

Change or Die

This is the title of a very compelling book by Alan Deutschman that illustrates how deep change can occur, not just for individuals, but for whole communities by adopting a three Rs approach of Relate, Repeat and Reframe. Although disarmingly simple, and contrary to the standard Facts and Fear approach of Western medicine, the 3Rs system inspires people to take ownership of their situation and create their own futures. As a coach I love the client empowerment aspect, which is undoubtedly key to its success.

Some months ago I was pondering on the initiators of change and remembered reading one view “People change when the pain of change is less than the pain of not changing”. Although this seems quite negative, more often than not it’s true. A friend, commenting on the AA 12 steps programme, told me “The 12 steps don’t open the gates of heaven to let you in, they open the gates of hell to let you out”. In one form or another, pain ushers change and growth.

But Deutschman illustrates the difference between the methods that work and those that don’t. In the facts and fear approaches we are so overwhelmed at the scale of the task that we opt out of changing and fall back into our chronically uncomfortable comfort zones. When deep change does occur it is because of the empathy and mutual support that is borne of relationship, opportunities to embed alternative methods and the new perspectives we gain on our situation.

Deutschman shows how the 3Rs transformed the lives of those suffering from advanced heart disease, institutionalised criminals and belligerent, antagonistic workforces. In these extreme examples, people had typically exhausted all the ‘normal’ intervention methods to the point where it was felt there was nothing more that could be done. They were hopeless cases. In this regard they strongly resemble the terminal cancer cases that came to Max Gerson in a desperate hope for a cure. When conventional approaches have failed, and you’re finally prepared to consider an alternative, an empathetic ear builds trust. New disciplines deliver favourable results and a change of perspective brings new hope.

In describing the work of Professor Ornish of the University of California medical school among advanced heart disease patients, Deutschman draws attention to the support network that forms naturally between patients as they share their war stories and progress reports. Similarly a cornerstone of the AA 12 steps programme is the strength of fellowship that supports the fallen in their recovery. In industry generally self-directed work teams are redefining the methods of production and vastly improving output. For me the central themes are universal. By taking personal responsibility, sharing in the process of growth and practising new methods, great change and healing is possible.

So when facing your most intractable problems are you hurting enough to change? Who will walk your path with you? Where can you break step and rest? What new practices can you adopt? What new vistas of hope open up to you? How can you, in turn, help others to find their way?

Change and Live!

© Paul Curran, February 2012

Did God Play on the 7th Day?

According to the Genesis story in the Bible, God created the earth and man in six days and rested on the seventh. Actually, I think he partied. From the earliest times it has been recognised how vital it is for us to relax and recreate ourselves at regular intervals and not to endlessly toil as did Sisyphus. We need to take the time to review our progress, to simply enjoy being alive and to celebrate our successes. For me, a sunny day beckons me into the forest, to smell the pines and watch the water cascading over the rocks on its journey to the sea. There amidst the exuberance of nature I get to think big thoughts. 

I realise that every season has its beauty. The mood of the river changes from the ferocious torrent of early spring to the slowest of trickles in a long hot summer.  From its source to the sea the river is continuous. Every part is needed. Every part has its tasks, its energy, its secrets. It is one, whether in the mountains, the countryside or the town-land I know as home.

On days such as this the feeling of oneness pervades every aspect of my existence. While I’m dismayed at needless violence at an Egyptian football match, the slaughter of innocents in Syria, the lunacy of managing illness rather than preventing it or the obscenities of UK bankers bonus payments, for a few hours I’m completely at peace with it all. This allows me to focus purely on my contribution, on how I can make a difference in the lives of others and to feel gratitude for the experience.

There’s every probability that tomorrow’s news will be at least as bad as today’s. There’s also a strong probability that today’s fine weather will give way to the more seasonal wind and rain. Before long events in my personal life will once again preoccupy me; but for now all is well and it’s good to be alive. It’s especially good on a Friday night to share in the music making of an Irish seisiun. Yeats tells us -

“For the Good are always the merry, save by an evil chance. And the merry love the fiddle, and the merry love to dance.”

So for today it’s time to rejoice, to smile and sing, to feel united in journeying toward a purpose greater than my own.  It’s time to share a meal, to enjoy the best of good company and not to be stuck in the kitchen but rather to be dancing my unique steps at God’s own party.

Detoxification

This is a subject that raises much controversy between practitioners of conventional medicine and the holistic community. Although I don’t much fancy the Gerson Therapy coffee enemas, I do agree with the principle. If I clear weed-filled gutters, it is only prudent to ensure that the drains that will remove the rainwater run-off are not blocked. Inherently, correct functioning is a systemic concern.

Max Gerson gained his insight into holistic healing over decades of work treating patients judged to have terminal cancer. Often they only came to him when conventional medicine had given up on them and they were considered beyond hope. His therapy is undoubtedly successful and yet remains relatively unknown despite innumerable campaigns to eradicate cancer forever. Why? Because the simplicity of his approach threatens to undermine the cancer industry which has grown cancerous itself. The massive costs of treating cancer sufferers are bankrupting society while the causes become more common and collectively we remain in denial.  So far the conventional wisdom to poison, slash and burn our way to health is achieving only poor long term outcomes and yet even now, only minimal attention is given to prevention.

I have long believed that health begins at the cellular level and my own journey to health has honoured that concept. As a healthy individual I am able to play my part in building community and contributing to a healthy society. The choice to be optimally healthy must come from the individual and demands that we adopt a disciplined lifestyle. Often this will require the changing of habits we have nurtured for years. We do so because we believe that our efforts will, down the line, bring the results we want. As the fresh vegetables supplant the convenience foods and the threat of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes recedes we gradually come to enjoy the benefits of robust good health. Today my meals are ‘nutrition attacks’ providing the broad spectrum of nutrients that ensure that every cell gets what it needs to perform well.

The same principles apply in a corporate environment. If working well, leadership acknowledges the state of the culture of an organisation, sets a course for health and marshals its resources to achieve it. Every individual counts. Nourishment equates to jointly creating a clear vision of the healthy organisation, providing the opportunity for individuals to excel and developing a strong psychological contract. Soon collaboration and trust cause the threats of strike action or closure to recede.  

Conventional corporate medicine will engage the accountants, the lawyers, the marketers and management to get the yes-men to march to the latest beat, with additional inducement or coercion being applied through HR as required. Too often the result is a lacklustre compliance to the doctrine of the day.

On the other hand, a more radical holistic approach will involve ‘Worldwork’ as espoused by Mindell and Appreciative Inquiry, as each employee finds his or her voice and shares in the creation of the enterprise. Dismantling excessive boardroom remunerations and tiers of privilege will provide the enema necessary to flush out the unnecessary bureaucracies and the toxic and crippling cost structures that threaten the survival of the business. Eventually emerges the lean, mean collaborating machine that becomes a pillar / bone or sinew of a healthy society.

© Paul Curran, January 2012

Factory Settings

Last week I had the dreaded computer crash. We all know it can happen so we protect our machines with firewalls, antivirus software, backup drives and memory sticks etc, don’t we? Prudent precautions prevent a severe inconvenience becoming a disaster. Returning to factory settings is painful but provides a firm foundation on which we can safely build.

Back in 1972 a nutritionist researcher from Queen Elizabeth College, John Yudkin, wrote his prophetic work  ‘Pure, White and Deadly’, in which he described the many dangers of sugar.  In 1975 it was joined by ‘The Saccharin Disease’, which provided the surgical perspective on the epidemic by Royal Naval Surgeon, Terence Cleave. Both authors pointed to the disastrous impact of refined carbohydrates, particularly sugar, on human health. By comparing the disease profiles of different populations around the world Cleave showed very clearly what befalls us when our diets depart from the evolutionary, ‘factory settings’ of traditional, natural foodstuffs. Civilised societies are now rife with coronary disease, diabetes, dental caries, peptic ulcer, obesity, varicose veins and many forms of cancer not seen in tribal populations adhering to traditional diets.

A parallel malaise has befallen much of Western industry; not through technology itself, which has bestowed enormous benefit on mankind, but in how forces of greed and corruption have led to gross distortions in wealth distribution through exploitation and profiteering. It may start innocently enough, perhaps through the opportunistic acquisition of a synergistic partner.  A little while later, in the name of efficiency jobs are lost. Boardroom packages grow ‘to reflect the complexity and responsibility of the role’ and ‘to attract the best executive talent for the future growth of the business’. Subtly, and sometimes swiftly, the controlling mind of the enterprise has lost touch with the workforce and has brought it to the brink of instability. The business has changed so much it may no longer be possible to recognise its origins. Should the business fail the chances are that, like a viral infection, many of the executives will be eagerly welcomed into other businesses and find themselves feted for their wrecker-ball insensitivities. They may never pause to ask what went wrong or how businesses are meant to live.

So can such situations be avoided? Around the world co-operative enterprises are enjoying a renaissance. Organisations like the UK’s John Lewis Partnership are showcasing the benefits of employee ownership. Warring communities everywhere can become reconciled when they are prepared to recognise their common humanitarian needs. While fully embracing the complexity of  modern life, it seems to me that the fundamental question that always needs to be asked is “What would Optimum Health require in this situation?” The answer often points to some fundamental disciplines that have been dropped or massaged – the PC backup, the healthy diet, budgetary controls, non-executive oversight and, most importantly, workforce consultation.

Being mindful of, and providing for, the health of each cell in our body, each member of our community, each worker in the business etc will ensure that we stay close to factory settings in our affairs. We will protect our personal health and form healthy relationships around us ever conscious of our role in the bigger picture. We will seek healthy partnerships within and between businesses, constantly learning from our efforts, ever vigilant against greed and corruption, and when necessary, ready to reboot.

Happy New Year

In Newcastle, Co Down, the first morning of the year is bright and sunny. It’s easy to be joyful on such a morning and to think positively of the year ahead. Standing on the bathroom scales at 9am confirmed that my first resolution had already been broken but I am undeterred. I do not subscribe to the ‘Make them to break them’ philosophy with its attendant guilt and feelings of hopelessness. Rather I see worthwhile achievable initiatives as stepping stones to optimum health, reflecting conscious lifestyle choices.

Until my hospitalisation I had not experienced the linkage between body and mind. I had not felt the powerlessness of being unable to concentrate for more than a few seconds. At a time when I could not walk, I couldn’t think either. Three years later I can better appreciate this linkage and see that it extends far beyond the immediate situation of being totally incapacitated. It pervades every aspect of life. Previously I might have equated being healthy with not being sick. Today I see optimum health and sickness as being poles apart. I now seek health in mind and body through a balance of stimulation and restfulness, nutrition and exercise. With body and mind in balance we are best able to meet the challenges of life, to develop our talents and to cooperate with others to build community.

Life experience helps us to build resilience. The young sportsperson masters her event through long hours of practice. The scholar masters his subject through study and inquiry. It is through dedication and application that real progress is made, not on the stopwatch recording of a single event, the scoring of a class assessment or the one off reading on the bathroom scales. Establishing appropriate metrics is certainly valuable to help us improve our awareness and levels of performance but let our goals serve our development as members of the human family rather than drive us to seek personal aggrandisement. Both success and failure bring learning. Success builds confidence and independence. If we’ll let it, failure broadens our perspective and brings humility.

My wish then, for 2012, is that I am receptive to the nutrition that will build both body and soul. Physically I won’t get closer to the Olympic Games than my TV set, but I will be enthralled as the  athletes set new records for human achievement. Neither will I be close to CERN as the scientists further our understanding of the universe. My task this year, and for life, is to be uniquely me and to fully play my part in society so that after my time in this world it is at least as healthy as I found it. To help me I’ll seek balance and understanding in my eating habits, I’ll exercise intelligently, read avidly, join with family in both celebration and sorrow and knit myself into the community through the music of my labour.

I hope you will join me in the quest to become optimally healthy and that you too will be undeterred in your resolve when setbacks occur. I wish you health, happiness and serenity on your journey.