Life is very random, and there’s one simple fact that helps me to grasp that – I did not choose where and when I was born.
As a doctor who works as a generalist, I’ve found myself in so many different settings and places and from all of that, I’ve come to realise that there are so many different ways to live, and what we determine as “normal” is dependent on where and when we randomly were born.
As a junior doctor I remember working in a paediatric ward, meeting a mother who thought it was okay to blend Big Macs into a bottle to feed to her baby. Shocking? Not for that mum. I remember working in a secondary school as a GP and learning of the shocking daily abuse and poverty some kids were experiencing. “Couch surfing” as a school kid; coming to school asking people for lunch money.
I reflect on my own life, and when we got here from overseas, we couldn’t believe there was a McDonald’s. I still remember my Dad being responsible one day for taking us to Macca’s in the city, where he let us pretty much order anything thing we wanted, so we really did – and vomited in the toilets straight after. Good times.
As a medical student, I remember smoking cigarettes, particularly after a run. Crazily, I even completed a marathon at the time. Additionally, my then girlfriend/now wife would stay over at my place for a few days, and every time she left, the first thing I could think of doing is heading straight to KFC.
Sometimes these were my own “choices”. Nevertheless, somewhere along the line, I realised there were particular influences in my life that had one way or another affected me, and where and when I was born had a profound impact on my choices.
If I was dry about it now, I’d say this is “generational”. Generational health, education and wealth, in this case, using the term generational to describe the chronological era as well as the influence of one’s own family and upbringing. Nurture. It’s just so powerful though isn’t it? You weren’t so smart to choose it. Your birth was completely random. It was, put bluntly, your most powerful moment of good or bad luck, perhaps something in between.
The ability of an individual to reflect on their life and appreciate the impacts – both positive and negative – of any “generational” effect, is a pivotal stage to allow them to gain greater self- determination. It’s a stage that some people will never pass through.
Note that none of this has direct reference to being happy. My finding is that you can be healthy, wealthy, educated and miserable. And conversely, you can be unhealthy, poor, uneducated and happy. And of course, there are all the combinations and permutations in between. With reference to health at least, in general, being healthy can help. Having a more functional and responsive, pain-free body, with senses intact, gives you more of a platform to enjoy your experience of the world.
Coming back to the point, the education you received as a baby and beyond about health, and how to best control it; the imprinting you have been given by the generation before you, none of which you initially chose – is a massively powerful force that potentially impacts your entire life. Judgement or blame about any of this is pointless. However, if you can pick out the good and reject the bad from that which has likely influenced you, you go down a path of increased freedom. Not easy, and yet we are relatively and absolutely very fortunate in Australia to have societal structures that can support people who have the inclination to change. The Quitline for smokers is one such example. Another would be free parenting classes, potentially so helpful. And from my end, I can say, that as a doctor, it is truly a privilege to be involved in supporting an individual’s plight to challenge any negative generational health influences affecting their present life.
