Sunday August 14, 2016
ANNUAL CHECKUPS WE COULD ALL BENEFIT FROM
By Jim Taylor
I had my annual physical checkup this last week. The doctor did all the usual things. He checked my vital signs — I still have them, thank you — and poked and prodded various parts of my body to make sure nothing was going wrong under cover, so to speak. He ordered a series of tests, to ensure he hadn’t overlooked anything.
He asked questions. And he took time to listen to me. To hear what I might have observed about the way my own body functions. After all, I live with it every day. But I don’t always know whether that mole is significant, or how to reduce the pain in my big toe.
Basically, I learned that I am still in good shape. For my age, at least. I can expect a few more years of reasonable health.
In grocery terms, though, my shelf life is limited. And I have certainly passed my “best before” date.
Occasionally, I read that an annual physical is a waste of time. It may be even hazardous. Apparently, the incidence of heart attacks, strokes, and aneurysms rises after a medical examination.
Maybe so. But I still want that annual checkup. I want to know what might be going wrong, before it’s too late to do anything about it.
OTHER KINDS OF CHECKUPS
I also need other kinds of annual checkups.
I do get an economic checkup periodically. I keep track of our investments. I know if we spend more than we need, cutting into the funds to sustain us for our remaining years. An investment advisor regularly sits down with us to evaluate our financial well-being.
But what about my emotional well-being?
I have no such thing as an annual emotional checkup. People ask, “How are you?” Or, “How are you feeling these days?” But it’s a courtesy, as meaningless as the supermarket cashier who tells every customer, “Have a great day!” If I take the question seriously, a detailed description of my feelings causes the questioner’s eyes to glaze over. She looks for someone else to talk to. Anyone.
The other day, a friend asked, “So what do you think of our civilization these days?”
“Doomed,” I replied.
Both question and answer were light-hearted. But he heard something more: “That doesn’t sound like the Jim Taylor I know,” he said.
So I probably need an occasional emotional checkup. It’s not something I can do for myself — my own feelings will inevitably colour my perception of those feelings.
And how about a spiritual checkup? Many people might not even consider a spiritual checkup important. And what would one check for , anyway — adherence to a defined set of beliefs? Memorized responses to a catechism?
No, it’s not about whether I believe the right things. It’s about how what I believe affects how I live.
Weathercock near Waupoos, Ontario
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