Author(s): Zan Boag (ed.)

Diaries

#7: HEALTH

There has been no shortage of health deities over the years, from the Aztec god of medicine Ixtlilton to the Afro-American Babalu Aye, spirit of illness and disease. There are at least sixteen in Celtic mythology alone; the Greeks and Romans had more than twenty between them. You would be hard pressed to find a topic that matters more to humans – who are we without our health? With advances in science, these deities have been pushed aside; no longer need we bow down to some mythical being for we are the gods of medicine.

And yet… has much really changed? We still place our ‘faith’ in science, in the ‘magic’ of pills, in the ‘healing powers’ of doctors. It’s hardly surprising that we are true believers – who doesn’t want a longer, healthier life? But at what price? By embracing all that ‘science’ spews forth in the name of ‘health’ we risk becoming little more than numbers on a spreadsheet, a cluster of parts to poke and prod – a faulty machine in need of attention. Life has more to offer than that. Lest we forget.