The Freight Train

Every once in awhile, a practice member will ask us when a certain symptom or complaint will begin to resolve.  Even though they understand that they are here to facilitate the process of regaining function, re-establishing their brain-body connection and then growing consistently stronger each day, they still have some concerns about when they will begin to feel better.  I would like to answer this by first reminding you that everything in life is a process.  This includes both the process of growing stronger (healing) and the process of getting weaker (dying).  And, all processes require time.  I would like to answer the question more specifically with a metaphor called “The Freight Train.”

Let’s pretend you are traveling in a freight train at 60 miles per hour, when suddenly you realize you have been going in the wrong direction.  Coming to a conscious awareness of this fact is the first important step in changing it, but concrete action steps are still required to do something about changing your situation.  Because your movement is a process that has some momentum, it is impossible to change your direction immediately.  The first thing to do is stop going the wrong way.  The best way to do this is to apply a positive force in the form of the brake.  This slows the train over time, and eventually stops your momentum in the wrong direction.

Next, you reverse your force so that you are actually producing what you want (to go in the opposite direction).  Slowly at first, then with increasing speed, you begin to travel back in the direction you came from.  After a while, you reach the place where you first realized you were going the wrong way.  Then you continue past that point until you reach the place where you started going the wrong way.  Finally, you gain the momentum needed to keep moving steadily toward your ultimate goal.

When you began your care here, you were going in a specific direction.  This direction was very likely opposite to what you desired.  In the freight train example, you would have been moving toward sickness, aging and death.  We have begun applying a positive force to move you in the direction you want to go.  This positive force is in the form of the chiropractic adjustment, which increases the expression of your Total Natural Health by restoring alignment and function in your spine and re-establishing the connection and communication between your brain and all the cells of your body.

Just like our train, the first thing that must happen is a slowing down and stopping of the momentum in the wrong direction.  We identify this as an increased ability to adapt to all of the physical, chemical and mental stresses you encounter each day.  Only then can a reversal (healing) occur and begin moving you in the right direction, toward growth and the full expression of health and Life!

The thing to get from this story is that everything is a process.  You have begun the process of moving toward what you want, but it will take time to see some of the specific results you are hoping for. 

One last thing, just like that freight train, as long as you keep applying a positive force in the direction you want to go, you will eventually go far past the point where your sickness process began and move toward bigger and brighter horizons than you may have been able to even imagine before.   You see, like everything else in life, your health development is a continual process.   And as such, there is no “final destination!”