The The Intensity of Human Suffering and Despair

Dr. Martha’s Monday Motivational

Monday, December 27, 2010

I was going through the top ten photos that depict moments in history, which was sent to me by a friend and I came across a photo taken by a Vietnamese photographer Nick Ut. The photo was taken in June 1972 of a nine-year-old girl, Kim Phuc, fleeing her village after a napalm attack.   The little girl was caught on fire in the attack and had to escape immediately. In the photo running next to her is her older brother and one young brother looking back to the black smoke, and another two [members of] her family are with her and immediately behind her you see all the South Vietnamese armies running along. While she was running she was literally burning alive, all of her clothing was burned off, and her skin was charred. When I look at the girl’s face I am consumed by the intensity of human suffering and despair.

The more I looked at this photo the more I began to think about our society and healthcare.  Many people are at a point where are afraid, they are lost and alone, because slowly they are dying rather than living a healthy abundant life.  I see many Americans as Kim, the naked girl in the village.  To me Kim is the typical sick American, running, scared, and feeling alone.  Next to her I see family and friends who are doing there best to support her but they are living in the same fear based model that leaves them afraid of their friend’s health and future as well as their own.

Remember the scenario behind the photo was a napalm attack on the village that caused a level of danger that was so intense even the South Vietnamese armies were fleeing.  In this photo, American healthcare is our napalm attack and it is at such a dangerous point that even our medical doctors and big pharma are scared, which are our version of South Vietnames armies.  The same human suffering and despair is evident in the average Americans face you see in Kim’s but because the average American is not running naked and burning alive we tend to overlook or not realize the intensity.

This photo really evoked a lot of emotion in me.  I literally sat in silence as I reflected on where our society is currently and where it is headed, especially if we continue heading in the downward spiral, which we are moving.  As a society if we continue to follow a model that treats sickness rather than promotes wellness we will continue to create thousands of Kim Phucs, individuals who are running in fear from the same system that is our source of help and support.

I researched Kim Phuc, she is living in Canada with her family. In that attack her skin was burned so badly that she under went 17 surgeries. Today she is alive and well in Canada.  While her heart may still bear the scars of the napalm attack on her village there are no outward scars to show of that day.

This photo and story is a great reminder that in an instant you can change your story and create a new outcome.  Americans don’t have to continue to flee from sickness obtaining scar after scar.   With the freedom of choice comes the freedom of health, the freedom to make choices that give life and allow optimal wellness.  The shift toward wellness will alter the current “sick” state that the majority of Americans are in and allow them to live the remaining years of their lives in a state of total wellness.  While there may still be some internal scars of sickness they are simply that scars and scars are often great reminders of where we have been and allow us to focus on where we are headed.  It is time that we stop the attacks, which are occurring more and more frequently on our nation’s healthcare and begin to heal the wounds it has created.  We need to unite as chiropractors and create the peace treaty necessary to change the face of this nation’s healthcare.

Love. Laugh. Adjust.

Dr. Martha, Innate Girl