Taking in the view 

My first three children were very close in age. Born only 19 and then 21 months apart, they grew up as a self-sufficient unit that provided each other with endless hours of play and entertainment. Apart from the first six months or so when the elder children would find the baby ‘boring’ because they didn’t do too much, once that baby reached the crawling stage, they became the best toy to play with and then, at the time of walking, a friend.

It was one of my greatest pleasures to watch them playing when they were unaware that I was there. To stand in the doorway or somewhere in the background and watch and listen. The amazing stories they would make up, the flights of fancy that would take them under the ocean, out into space or into another country would never fail to make me catch my breath at the wonders of their imagination which was allowed to run free.

Totally uninhibited, they would sing at the top of their lungs – songs of their own devising with words that fit what they were doing at the time. If only I had thought to write those words down at the time! They would dance to their own music or, put on one of the children’s tapes we had at the time and Wiggle or Raffi until they fell into a tired pile on the floor together.

When did this openness change? At what point did they start to realise that there were ‘norms’ which society inflicts on people that they needed to adhere to? Why was it that, at the grand old age of 7, my eldest son Matthew suddenly refused to give me a kiss good-bye when I dropped him off to school? “Mum”, he said. “the boys are watching.” And pulling away from me, I realised that somewhere along the line, he had picked up the idea that boys didn’t kiss their mothers because it just wasn’t cool.

At about the same age, my daughter Rebecca started to close the door when she was getting dressed – suddenly aware that her body should be hidden from the rest of her family – the end of a long and beautiful innocence which we as her parents had cherished and nurtured as much as possible.

When did the children stop singing in front of strangers – or even in front of each other – and decide that this was something that just ‘wasn’t done’?

How much joy is taken and given when we watch children being free and how much more wonderful would it be if we never lost that openness and ease within ourselves to freely express our emotions. To cry when we are sad or hurt – to sing when we are happy – to kiss those we love and to let them know – without fear of ridicule or rejection – how much they mean to us?

This issue, we have the pleasure of presenting you with someone who never left that stage of life. I am not saying that he did not grow up – rather, that he took the best parts of childhood with him as he grew and, by holding onto that open and loving nature which is a natural part of almost every child, he has helped so many others to learn what it really is to be happy – to laugh and to bring laughter to others. Hunter “Patch” Adams is an inspiration to people the world over. His website - http://www.patchadams.org/home.htm, states that "We cannot separate the health of the individual from the health of the family, the community, and the world." It is just this interconnectedness that so often gets lost as we wrap ourselves up in our daily lives, living at a pace that is impossible to maintain without adversely affecting our families and our health.

Most times, our only window on the world around us is the ½ hour horror-fest of negativity called the evening news. Is it any wonder then that our senses our numbed, our emotions dulled and our ability to actively participate in society is lost behind a wall of repression, helplessness and just plain feeling alone? Where is the laughter then? Where is the joy?

If you only read one article in this issue – please make it the story of Patch Adams – and if you have the time, please visit his website and have a read about what true grit and determination can accomplish. For over 30 years, Patch has been travelling the world to spread his message of love, caring and true health through laughter. He has not allowed anything to stop him from that course he has set and, despite many setbacks and outright knocks, his sense of humour and humanity have never left him or failed.

If we could cultivate these traits in our own children and in ourselves – how much better would the world be today? And if you could take one lesson from this quarter’s issue, perhaps it could be the teaching that love, freely given with nothing asked for in return, can have the power to improve the lives of so many others around you. But only if we are brave enough to live in the moment, spread joy in our wake and sing our own songs as if we were once again, that awe-inspiring and innocent child who lives within us all.

Water
I also wanted to mention that we have a very important feature in this issue on water. For a substance which is so vital to our very existence, we think very little about water and we treat it with very little respect. Our review of water filters is a beginning but the expose on fluoride is a must-read for everyone in Australia and overseas.

The parallels between vaccination and fluoride are incredibly obvious. Both are assumed to be safe and effective and both are considered to be so important to our health that everyone must receive them. But, in contrast with our active participation in the vaccination policy which requires us to front up to a doctor or a clinic to receive our shots, fluoride is added to the water and therefore, is passively administered – at unknown dosages – to each and every one of us every time we turn on the tap, brush our teeth, drink a bottle of soft drink or juice made from concentrate or eat anything which is prepared with fluoridated water.

More and more shires across Australia are currently debating the benefits of fluoridation and, as with the vaccination ‘debate; - only the mainstream voice is generally heard. It is therefore, very important for all of us to be informed about this insidious measure to fluoridate every man, woman, child and beast in this country without our express consent and to be involved in fighting against fluoridation wherever it may be found. Even if you are of the belief that fluoride is good for teeth, you must agree that it can be taken on an individual basis and that everyone must have the right for this as for other health measures – to just say no.

Until the next issue of Informed Voice, thank you for your support and interest and may your days be filled with health, love, laughter and sunshine.

Meryl Dorey
Editor, Informed Voice magazine