Does nature or nurture have more sway over the path we choose?
And how we turn out?
A good friend and I debated this throughout the years.
Often switching sides.
We listened respectfully while walking on lunch hours or after work and made arguments for our beliefs.
Was it that we were taught good manners or that we have a passion for understanding that drove this cooperation for a potentially contentious subject?
At the end of the day I think we were saying the same thing in different ways but in debating we gained knowledge and perspective.
We learned of a world neither knew existed.
A world forged by experience and while that suggests nurture whatever was in our nature enabled us to navigate that experience in a way that shaped who we became.
What’s New?
I came across an article today that had me considering
- I was ahead of my time
- I had such an innate feeling it was the right way I walked the holistic path in the face of incredible criticism and among a large circle of influence that went in the opposite direction
Was I born to follow the holistic [read natural/traditional] way or was I shaped by my experiences?
Nurture
As I discuss in my podcasts I witnessed what happens when individuals follow a certain philosophy of healing and yes, this entrenched my natural proclivity to go Mother Nature’s route.
The route that got us this far.
It was heartbreaking to watch loved ones who put their faith in the allopathic way suffer.
Nature
For as long as I can remember – going back to 4 years of age I instinctively knew when someone was sad, tired, hurting. I frequently approached these individuals to see how I could help.
Though I have a memory of this behavior going back before kindergarten there’s a story related to me by my mom that illustrates it started much earlier.
I discuss in a podcast
My parents lost many classmates to the Vietnam War and many of the men who returned weren’t in a good space. One afternoon my mom took me to a local park. I was just walking and talking. We ran into a gentleman in a wheelchair. Apparently I approached and asked, “Where are your legs?”
Worrying I’d rubbed salt in a wound my mom was quick to apologize. His response is the nature part of this equation.
“This is the first time I’ve laughed and smiled since coming home.”
Nature and Nurture Meet
When I read the article, one bit stood out.
“Meditation was all this ‘woo-woo stuff’ but now, seeing all these advances in neuroscience and showing changes in brain waves from functional magnetic resonance imaging, which we couldn’t do before – actually being able to trace the pathways that lead to changes in health measurements – I think this is really, really exciting,” she says.”
Nurture
This information was known and studied in the late 70s if not before. My dad and I would watch various pieces from 60 Minutes to documentaries on the subject.
Nature
It’s in my nature to want to understand the science and research behind Mother Nature’s gifts. This need to understand inspired me to go back to school to study what I’d been living: Holistic healing. As a result I learned in class that in the 90s Tibetan monks – some of the world’s superior meditators – had been hooked up to EEGs and undergone brain scans and all sorts of what I’m guessing were invasive medical tests – all in the name of research into the health benefits of meditation.
I read the research papers as part of my class work.
A Real-Life Twist
Readers know that when I was 10 I fell off a diving board and had a brain bleed that left me blind paralyzed on my left side and in a coma. Over the course of my recovery – and likely due to my nature – I forged a beautiful friendship with the neurosurgeon who saved my life.
Whenever I visit Michigan I make a point to stop by and say hi.
On a recent trip I brought my family with me. After a bit of small talk he mentioned something I’d written in one of the letters I’ve been sending since I was 12 and my family moved out of state.
Meditation.
He told me of the science behind why meditation is so good for the brain after which he encouraged me to keep on the holistic path.
A man of science I also know him as a man of faith and a man who understands the role of traditional healing.
As my story illustrates Nature and Nurture are not an either or but part of a circular dance that has been going on for centuries with plenty of enlightened individuals on both sides of the equation.
Be well.
Note: I’ve been using homeopathy successfully for decades, trained by a British ENT surgeon.
Elizabeth Maxim 