Do Squirrels Call the Vet?

Mobile phones are ubiquitous. The number of Americans with a mobile phone is 89% (as of June 2009). How many wild animals have mobile phones? Zero. Or at least I have not witnessed any animals with mobile phones. Google doesn't even know what to do when I seek such data. Go ahead and try it... interesting results.

When Americans feel sick, we call a doctor. Not only do we call a doctor, but we expect the doctor to cure us. And cure us NOW. Give us a pill, a shot, a surgery, a something (an anything!) to make us feel better.

Here is an interesting thought... What do squirrels do when they feel ill? Do they call a veterinarian? They cannot, even if they had the desire. They don't have mobile phones.

What they do is perhaps the best model for what we humans might consider. They rest, they eat a specific plant or root (proven effective by eons of squirrel experience), they drink more water, or their animal family gathers to say goodbye.

I'm not proposing we stop calling our doctors when we don't feel well. I'm not suggesting we walk away from our American medical system in favor of walking into the forest and eating plants. I'm also not suggesting we call a vet when we're not feeling well (though I do contend my animals get far better health care than many humans I know).

What I am suggesting is each of us (yes, I mean you and me) consider our bodies intuitively know what is best for us. I am suggesting we stop assigning responsibility for our health to someone else. Be your own primary care doctor. Be your own caretaker. Make the choices you know are best for your health and well being. Not the choices some "expert" suggests, certainly not the choices a marketing campaign suggests, and, in many cases not the choices your family exhibits.

Health is personal. Take a hint from nature. Make your own health your own first mission.