Charity Begins at Home

This was one of my Mum’s expressions which didn’t concern me as a child but as I reflect on it now it throws up many ideas, some quite profound. Some 7 years ago, when I started piecing together the cause of my illness I adopted the rationale that my role as manager of my health was to ensure that every cell in my body was healthy. When every cell was healthy then the whole body must surely be healthy. Charity started at cellular level. With basic health restored I found myself thinking more clearly. Events in my life gave me pause for reflection and the opportunity to examine habitual ways of thinking and working. I’d started to think for myself and not simply to follow cultural tramlines. It was a period of critical reflection during which I recalibrated and then honoured my inner compass. In this case charity required that I gave myself the freedom to think and patience while I adjusted. Now having regained physical and mental independence I had the opportunity to examine what I wanted to do and why. What is my vocation and how best can I live it? Various experiences had shown me that when I seek only personal gain I manage only temporary results. In the spiritual domain charity that stays at home, self-serving charity, is of little value. Only independent people can form interdependent relationships so we can now expand our idea of home to include the community in which we live. Building community is a true act of charity but in a sense is still self-serving as when life’s trials strike we fall back on the community to support us. Too narrow a definition for community can lead to nepotism or worse and so our guiding principle expands to consider what is best for mankind overall. And finally, to play the environmental card, it’s clear that if we trash the planet on which we live then none of us will even have a home. So whether it’s muscle cells, brain cells, whole communities, countries or continents, charity really does begin at home!

Health Leadership Vacuum

The UK has been reeling in recent weeks since the Brexit referendum showed the will of the people to leave the EU. Much of the mudslinging and infighting from all points on the political spectrum has centred on leadership ability or lack of it. What appears to me to be lacking is a clearly presented sense of direction to which everyone can commit. When the objective is clear and the prize worthy of the effort then most people will gladly shoulder the yoke and work harmoniously to achieve it. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the human body. It’s a reasonable suggestion that every cell in the body wants to be healthy and when every cell is healthy then so too must the whole body be healthy. Each cell performs a unique role in the body. A heart cell doesn’t tell a liver cell what to do nor does the brain decide what organs will be nourished today and which ones won’t. Self-leadership allows each organ to perform at its best in service of the whole. Arguably the most effective leadership is supplied by the subconscious which contains the blueprints of optimal functioning – the heart beats, lungs breathe, hair grows etc. In a healthy body everything is balanced and mutually supporting. When the subconscious disconnects from its housekeeping then we do indeed have a leadership vacuum, one with a deadly outcome. What if we could suspend our belief that modern medicine has all the answers, that there is a procedure for every pain or a pill for every ill and that all we need do is trust our doctor to prescribe it? We could instead turn inward toward our cellular workforce and listen to their needs. We could use our executive brain function to ensure that these needs are met through avoiding any worsening of our condition, by removing accumulated toxins and then by providing the necessary nutrition to promote healing. Leadership must surely begin with personal leadership; by accepting personal responsibility to explore new ideas and then summoning all our resources in their pursuit. My most rewarding results during my corporate life came when I realised that leadership is not imposed or fought over. Rather I found that my most successful leadership experiences resulted from projecting a clear image of the goal and then becoming the facilitator by which every team member could develop and contribute their unique talents towards its achievement. It was never necessary to tell someone how to do their job nor waste a second in destructive criticism or recrimination. Today the rising awareness of ‘Functional Medicine’ is changing our ideas of healthcare. The only sustainable healthcare system is one in which we seek root cause resolution of medical issues rather than short term management of symptoms. Perhaps the greatest challenge is to take on the yoke of personal leadership so that we can orchestrate our cellular resources and immune systems to restore order in the body. Now is the time; tomorrow is guaranteed to no one.