On Sickness and Health

Being sick is an amazing thing. It really cleans things out of your system like nothing else. And it’s like a forced vacation. You have to rest, because there is literally nothing else you can do. And afterwards, you not only feel better, but you can appreciate all the more the sort of general feeling of equilibrium that you normally have, but mostly take for granted.

I think everybody needs a good sickness once in a while. I’m not saying I like it. I’m not saying it’s enjoyable or in any way comfy to be puking and groaning at 4 in the morning. But I do think it’s a good idea. Me, I get a little wonky when I go for too long without being sick. The trouble is, my immune system is apparently pretty effective, and most of the time I go years without a cold. So this last weekend’s performance was quite a feat. And even though it sucked, I must say, I am quite pleased with the result. It’s all about opposition, juxtaposition, compare and contrast. You can’t know what healthy is, if you haven’t been sick.

And this is true for the planet, too. OK, you’re saying, I am making a huge mental leap here. I guess I am. But actually, this other thought came first, when I was reading Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything” this summer. He was talking about ice ages, and how they actually carve out the earth and make it more fertile and ready for good times ahead. I’ll quote Bill Bryson quoting Tim Flannery: “There is only one question you need ask of a continent to determine the fate of its people: ‘did you have a good ice age?’” And the thought in my mind at the time was actually that what applies to the earth applies to people, too. That these “sicknesses” and sort of depressions that we go through, actually serve a purpose in that they make us more mentally and physically ready for what’s going to happen to us next, which is the good stuff.