Ostriches and preventive healthcare
Ostriches don’t actually stick their heads in the sand and think their whole body is hidden.
It’s a myth that has been circulating since ancient Roman times, thanks to Pliny the Elder (23-79AD) who apparently wanted us to think that the birds were really, really stupid. He died trying to “understand” Mount Vesuvius as it was erupting, so I don’t think anyone should cast judgment here.
I do give Mr. The Elder lots of credit because he wrote one of the first Natural History encyclopedias. However, in Book 10, Chapter 1, he wrote that ostriches “imagine, when they have thrust their head and neck into a bush, that the whole of their body is concealed”.
While I admire him for attempting to get into the psyche of an ostrich, it’s just not at all true. Ostrich nests are buried, so it looks like they bury their heads when they are just turning their eggs. She’s just being a good mom, but thanks for all the judgey assumptions, Pliny.
We’ve hung onto this notion of the avoidant ostrich all this time because it is comforting to think we are not the only animals who engage in self-delusion — like in the case of preventive health care.
This week, I spent three and a half hours getting various screenings for breast cancer. 3D mammograms, contrast-enhanced mammograms, and ultrasounds. I’m a complicated case in this area, and so I’m participating in a medical study investigating advanced imaging techniques. As they squished and prodded and looked for a viable vein, I thought: this isn’t fun. Why am I literally volunteering for this? I mean, shit, what if they actually do find something scary? Maybe I’ll just go home.
But even an ostrich is smart enough to know that this doesn’t work. Just because you bury your little brain, doesn’t mean the rest of you is protected.
It’s full-on adulting when you do something scary to lessen the possibility of something way more scary down the road. We go to the dentist for checkups to ward off a root canal. We get mammograms to detect early breast cancer. We clean the bathroom before it gets totally gross. We have the awkward conversations to avoid a catastrophe in the relationship. We exercise so we don’t throw out our backs while lifting grocery bags.
Much of the philosophy behind yoga and meditation is about how we can reduce the suffering in ourselves and the world. And the reality is, we often need to get cozy with that discomfort now to mitigate the suffering later. We do our meditation practice now (discomfort) so we are less emotionally hijacked when we get difficult medical news (suffering).
So if you are a person who has been putting off a preventive health screening — go make the damn appointment.
And lay off the ostriches.
Here’s what else happened this week:
Proof that I Did the Thing: A Video
And many thanks to the UVA Breast Care Clinic for having an amazingly kind staff, waiting rooms with pretty windows, and a solid supply of graham crackers.
What I Read
This Housing Center Provides Sanctuary for Starting Over
There are two things that men leaving the prison system in New Orleans most commonly request from The First 72+, a nonprofit that helps the formerly incarcerated adjust to life on the outside. The first is enough privacy to wake up and not make eye contact with another man.
The second is a bubble bath.
What I Watched
I sobbed my way through the Princess Diana episodes of The Crown (Netflix)
If you’re looking for more reading, here is my story of when I met Diana and (as I remind Jeremy frequently) almost dated William. (Shut up we all have our delusions.)
What I was reminded of
As we get brave and do the challenging things, here’s a little video to remind you of something I always forget about as I work with my lifelong anxiety. Just because I’m anxious doing it — doesn’t mean I’m doing the wrong thing.
What I posted
Brand new meditation and yoga classes are posted on Blue Mala - because it’s February and we are still taking care of our stupid mental health, right??
Thank you for reading, friends.
Much love,
~Lisa