undoubtedly there are many people living in worse circumstances than me, also battling the flu. my heart goes out to you, truly.
"i hope it's not the h1n1 virus," people say to me, when i do venture out into society. i've tried to isolate myself but it's day 18, impossible to stay home forever, there are chores to contend with. i'm still moving mighty slowly, walking like an old person .... the other day i was sauntering along the sidewalk and was passed by two people much older than me. i actually borrowed my friend's car yesterday because i needed to get some stuff done and i knew there's no way i'd be able to ride my bike. i definitely understand what it is to live with chronic fatigue syndrome.
is it the "swine" flu? who knows. whatever it is, it's persistent. i'm no scientist, and with all due respect to them, i suspect humans can only make attempts to identify and name every little virus that springs to life. (apparently large numbers of undocumented species have already disappeared from the oceans so if humans haven't managed to categorize every living species on earth yet i doubt they've got a grip on all the "viruses.") some suggest the h1n1 (and perhaps the hiv virus, and who knows what else), was generated in a laboratory. nothing surprises me anymore .... the lack of action on homelessness in canada suggests to me that allowing a segment of the population to just drop off is probably considered a viable methodology for population control. as is war. as is, perhaps, the release of viruses and, sometimes, the subsequent vaccinations.
sometimes i think the whole human species has been quietly knocked off and replaced with some alien species who, like corporations, know no allegiance to the land they occupy. they're here for a good time, not a long time.
if the virus i've got wasn't created in a lab, it's the result of 7 billion people, most of them meat-eaters, using and abusing the earth and her resources. if i were the earth i'd be throwing up a line of defense too. ultimately, i'm on the earth's team. she, and all the myriad creatures who have evolved from and with her, would definitely be better off without the greedy humans.
but .... i'm a good human, born in this body 48 years ago and hoping to stay here for a while longer. i don't consume other sentient beings or their by-products. i live in a small space. i don't use air conditioning, but i do appreciate a bit of heat in the winter. i don't own a car, i walk, cycle, or bus. i'm a member of the car share cooperative for those special occasions. i travel long distances over land, whenever possible, riding amtrak or buses rather than flying. i buy in bulk, re-use plastic bags, use washable girl things, dry my laundry on racks, carry a mug, buy local, organic, recycled, and second hand whenever feasible. i don't buy bottled water. i recently invested in a soy milk making machine, a wonderful creation that will save lots and lots of tetra containers from the recycling bin. i try my best to enable others to be heard (though i won't enable the endorsement of violence in any form) through radio and newspaper (printed on recycled newsprint), attempting to think and work both globally and locally.
yesterday i bought a newly released herbal/vitamin product that seems to have brought me back from the brink - at least for now. for folks wanting to avoid donald rumsfeld's tamiflu "solution," here's a list of what i've been taking to help my own immune system boost itself. this is not to be considered medical advice, just sharing what works for me. i appreciate that these things cost money:
vitamin c (the emergenC packages are great), echinacea, colloidial silver, oil of oregano, astragalas, a multi-vitamin (i like veglife vegan ones, but i don't know if they're available in canada) .... and the two i picked up yesterday .... rejuvenate cell therapy (very expensive but my tooth abscess also responds favourably to it, i've been in root canal avoidance for several years) and, the one i think has really helped me start to feel human .... stressmune from sisu. all these things are vegan. i also visited a herbalist last week who gave me a combination of herbs that helped my cough. if someone made a vaccine that listed ingredients like these, i might be tempted.
so, if you're suffering from whatever strain of whatever flu, my thoughts are with you. as much as i'm on team earth philosophically, i believe the eternal universe will be better off if lifeforms from this planet can attain some form of enlightenment while they're here. the earth has lots to teach us.
