There is no cure for it being day #2 of ‘Take Your Medicine!’ week.

Can vs Can’t

People spend a lot of money, time, effort, emotion, worry on trying to change things that can’t be changed.  But it is also true that many people settle for things always staying the same when they could change if they just put out the effort.   I have seen it in a friend who stayed in an abusive relationship saying ‘There is nothing I can do about it.’  What she really said was ‘I am afraid to make the move (take the pill in medical terms) that will be the cure.’

Can vs Shouldn’t

But there are also situations where people want a cure for something that isn’t really a problem.  If the treatment is no big deal, teeth whitening for teeth that are already pretty white, for example, then no harm, no foul.  But what about a treatment that could be dangerous, to ‘cure’ something that is more based in a self-misperception or a greedy sales pitch, than it is in reality?  

I have seen it in a friend who had a face lift while still very young with no visually significant signs of aging.  But they were convinced that because they didn’t look like they did at 25 they need to get the procedure done.  I thought the natural aging process should be ‘endured’ in that case, because the ‘cure’ didn’t seem to really be a cure and the ‘disease’ didn’t seem to really be a disease. The dangers however seemed just as significant as if the disease was life-threatening.

Can vs Won’t

And then there are those who could be cured if they actually would go to the doctor.  Many people die every year because they refuse to go to a doctor. When they finally get sick and do go, it’s found they have a stage 4 colon cancer that could have been treated if found in time. Instead they die.  

I had a physical 7 years ago and kept putting off getting another one because I felt healthy.  My wife Linda’s mother died of colon cancer and Linda went to get a colonoscopy shortly thereafter.  I didn’t.  Finally, this past year I did get a full physical.  And luckily no cancer, no heart problems, no signs of anything negative as of now. But why did I wait 7 years? I don’t know, but it was stupid.

Can vs Never Will

And we are left with those for who there truly is no cure.  I am not saying there might not be a cure, but it is not likely to happen in their lifetime and they will go to meet their maker with the issue they have. It will never be taken away from them.  

We watched the Bachelor TV show this past season and one of the most compelling stories for me was of one of the contestants, Sarah Herron.  She was born with only half of her left arm. She will never grow an arm.  

Sarah Herron from The Bachelor – 2013

More than Endure

A future Sarah, in 10 or 100 years, might be able to, but this Sarah will live all, or at least most, of her life just as she is, with half an arm. She tried a prothesis for a while as a child but didn’t like it and instead just got adept at using her half arm to do what most people do with a full one. It was obvious from watching her that she is willing and able to do most anything, even compete in a Roller Derby match.  

This is true of many others who are not going to be cured of whatever it is that has befallen them.  Some do endure, but many do much more than just endure. They prosper in the face of pretty daunting barriers. They have more than a small mark to complain about, they have big issues that will never go away and yet they overcome, they endure and the prosper.  If they can, then you can, whatever your issue.

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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who is never going to be without burn scars on much of his body, and is not just fine with it, but happy to have them.

Quote by Robert Burton, 1577-1640, British scholar, author of ‘The Anatomy of Melencholy’, which might explain why he would write the quote.

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