.
.
........The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
........Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
........Is my destroyer…
................Dylan Thomas, 1933
After a heart attack, the longer the heart muscle cells have been without oxygen, the more of them die. These cells do not regenerate; they form scar tissue in the heart and change the electrical pattern of the heartbeat. The heart enlarges, sometimes too much, in an attempt to compensate for the reduction in pumping efficiency. These changes are not something that can be reversed, that can be "cured."
Of all the books I read after the heart attack, the author that spoke the most clearly and compassionately to me was Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, a physician who has survived Crohn’s Disease for fifty years and teaches other physicians about the emotional and spiritual side of healing:
. .
Curing happens at the level of the body, and it requires expertise.
Healing is what happens at the level of the whole person.
.
.
Where do these drawings come from?
Where do these dreams come from?
Where does this healing come from?
The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
.
