Have you noticed that we often talk about a serious disease
as if we have adopted it?
We use possessive pronouns:
“I remember that day when I found my lump…”
“My rheumatoid arthritis always acts up when…”
“I have to be so careful with my diabetes…”
Good grief.
We speak in familiar—practically friendly—terms,
about a deadly disease!
We psychologically take the disease in and make it ours!
But a disease is not a domestic animal.
A disease is not even a feral animal.
A disease is a foreign, destructive, and potentially lethal process.
Why cozy up to a destructive process?
Why give it a friendly foothold?
That disease is NOT you.
Please note:
I did not say your disease is not you.
I said that disease is not you.
Never adopt a disease as yours.
We must never make a pet out of a serious disease.
When we make a pet out of a serious disease
we are welcoming it to take up residence
and become part of us
and part of our life.
Passive surrender
Getting cozy with a destructive process
is a form of passive surrender.
Surrender to the destructive process we are facing
is the ultimate danger in life.
Even more dangerous than the process itself.
What to do instead of surrender
Instead of surrendering,
as we do when we make a pet out of a serious disease,
we must reject the disease entirely.
We must offer it no home.
Yes, it is a fact that the disease exists.
It is a fact that it is attacking our body.
But there is no law that says we must
roll out the welcome mat
and allow it to take over our mind and our life.
We have the power to set a clear and solid boundary
and declare:
“That disease is not me.
I am opposed to that disease”
I see it as a foreign, destructive and potentially lethal process
that is attempting to advance and overpower my defenses.
I hereby summon my power of prevention and counterattack.
Not only my physical power but my psychological power as well.
I will gather all my allies (medical, spiritual, family and friends)
to hold that destructive force at bay
and overcome it as far as humanly possible.”
Our immune system is our ally
Our immune system is both physical and psychological.
There are many well documented ways we can strengthen it.
One way is to strengthen how we think and feel: our morale.
How we think and feel directly affects our health.
We are far more vulnerable to disease
when we are in a weak psychological state
than when we are psychologically strong.
Therefore the watchword is:
we shall strengthen and maintain our strong morale
so there is no surrender on any level
to destructive processes.
Our ego strength shall galvanize our immune system
as we fight the intruding process
with all the medical, psychological and spiritual strength we can muster.
Our immunity needs to extend to the realm of political health
I would be remiss, at this critical juncture in American history,
to discuss destructive processes without including the political.
Allow me to be inclusive.
Our ego must stand up strong and reject surrender
to destructive political processes
and fight them with the same intensity
with which we fight destructive physical processes.
Our political health is vital to our health on all other levels.
Without political health we have no freedom to live.
So let’s ask ourselves:
would we make a pet out of fascism?
“I remember that day I found my dictator!
That all powerful leader who will be my retribution…”
“My fascist nature always acts up when…”
“I have to be careful with my fascist inclinations, but…”
Of course we would not make a pet out of fascism.
No strong healthy ego would ever welcome
being taken over by a fascist force.
Strong healthy citizens would never welcome anyone
to become our dictator.
We would vote against any weakling
posing as a “strong” man
calling his fellow human beings “vermin”
and bragging about his plans to get rid of them.
Let’s face it:
destructive forces assail us every day on all levels.
Physical, psychological, spiritual and political.
It’s enough to make us all paranoid. 🙂
But no, let’s not go down that dark escape hatch.
Instead, let’s stand up with our eyes wide open
and take effective action.
Passive surrender is always the worst possible path
to take when dealing with any destructive force.
That is why we must never make a pet out of a serious disease.
Whether that disease is physical, psychological, spiritual, or political.
When we do, we are asking for death.
Dr. Hall
PS For a better alternative to asking for death,
please see: Do you know how to win a fight?