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Having suffered a heart attack and the following year an aggressive cancer, my father was understandably getting a bit frustrated. You have to understand my father's story to know why. At 71, he was the fittest man for his age that I knew. He always had been. He'd always been totally *mocked* in a very Australian way by the boys at the beach for his vegetarianism, because as most of us know, people *like* to mock the things they don't understand. He'd not eaten meat since 1973. He'd never smoked, apart from that one joint he smoked with me at Christmas after discovering a plant in my garden, and maybe a cigar or two. He'd never even drunk a lot. He was a surfer, a yogi and a kitesurfer, could race us all up a hill and win, and his life philosophy has always been 'ya gotta keep moving'. He was lucky, too, having Mum - she has always been a killer cook, and we'd been raised on organic-where-possible, preservative free, home cooked, extraordinary vegetarian meals, for the most part vegan. So you can understand, maybe, why people were *shocked* when it was Dad that had the heart attack and the Big C. 'What, Hans?' they'd say, as if we'd made up this story just for fun. It was kinda wierd, as if every one thought he was immune from it.
My folks had turned vegetarian for moral reasons as much as health ones. They weren't keen on the chemicals that went into meat production back in the '70's but nor were they into animal cruelty. Dad used to sit around the dinner table and tell us how cows were killed. Needless to say my sister and I followed suit. I don't think he'd eat meat if they told him it'd cure him (which it won't) - living this healthy life wasn't just about what he was putting in *his* body but the impact of his eating on the planet. Again, lucky he's got Mum for that, who still makes sure what she buys is ethical, whether it's got meat in or not. These choices had nothing to do with impending death, and everything to do with being a good person with a responsibility for the planet. He knew, as we all did, that living a healthy life isn't a guarantee of a long life, because hey, that random bus or shark can drive or swim by at any time. A longer life was possible, sure, and we knew that the Mediterranean diet lent itself to longevity, or that a stress free life or meditation might increase those telomeres so that you end up younger than your years when everyone around you is in a zimmer frame. And that whole 'keep moving' philosophy was a good one - move it or lose it is a commonly accepted theory that works. Tie your arm to your side for a month and then see how good it is at waving, and you'll understand what I mean. He was never trying to be healthy to *avoid* or *postpone* death. It was just kinda wierd it was knocking NOW, after all he'd done to - well, hell, was he trying to postpone it? Half way through his chemotherapy (and please, please, please don't give us advice on cancer cures, that's not what this post is about) he was weary, sick and fed up. It ain't a pretty thing. He had been doing all that we knew was good to do - positivity, meditation, walking, gentle yoga, good food. And then he was just done with it all. In a moment of weakness he even told the nurse he'd rather die, whereupon she pulled up a seat and gave him a swift talking to, and he was suitably chastened. He said, too: 'what's the point of spending so much time worrying about being healthy when you're going to die anyway?'. Whereupon we all flew at him, telling him exactly why we bother. In the Grand Assessment of Life that seems to occur just as we're facing death, my Dad had to admit he'd had a blessed life. He hadn't been plagued by illnesses. He had a beautiful family. And he'd *enjoyed* it - despite times of stress that comes with work, he'd been healthy enough TO enjoy it. Philosophically now, I think about moment to moment experiences - they aren't always pleasant if you're not in great health. He'd been able to run around with three grandsons like a man half his age. He'd taught me to surf, hooked me on yoga. Gone travelling a bit. All of that brought him joy. If he were to die now, there could be no real regrets. My Dad did get a few months of remission this year, where things seemed to get back on track - he came out paddle boarding with me again, did a few vinyasa sessions, went to gym, walked. Although things weren't quite the same, life seemed good again. The doctors swore he'd never have survived that chemo if he hadn't been a healthy and fit man and it was likely his healthy diet and attitude that helped his body fight the cancer. And then, he was told by the DVA (The Department of Veteran affairs - Dad spent a year in Vietnam, never fought) to go for compensation. Why? he asked. He'd never had PTSD - in fact, Vietnam had never affected his life. The woman told him that it was common for returned serviceman of his age to first get a heart attack, then get cancer. When the compensation claim was approved, the paperwork was horrifying - a long list of chemicals that he would have been subject to on the ground or drinking it in the potable water. It basically said, yep, we know what you are suffering is totally due to your service. Sorry. Here's a few hundred bucks a fortnight since you let us know (because you aren't dead yet). So this cancer was *always* coming at him.
**Dad would hate that I shared this photo. Here he is just before they put a stent in to keep him going.**
The question on our lips is: if he *hadn't* have lived a healthy life, would it have come at him sooner? And we all like to think so. We like to think all those choices he made gave him 70 years of a kick-ass life, with nothing he *should* regret. The @naturalmedicine question this week is: #### 'Do we lead healthy lives to avoid or postpone death' Reflecting on my father's continued struggle with cancer (it's come back, and we're all struggling with that right now), in this context, yes and no. Of course we like to live a healthy life because life is grand, and we are blessed, and we would like to stick around a little longer, thanks very much. But most of us are fairly equanimous with the fact death is coming for all of us, so best *enjoy* it while you can, and live a good life - energetic, vital and able to live it the best you can - with as little harm done to the Earth or others as you can. It all *matters*, until it doesn't, because you are gone.
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Originally posted here: https://steemit.com/naturalmedicine/@riverflows/why-it-always-matters-living-a-healthy-life-response-to-naturalmedicine-challenge-win-20-steem
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