Today, I went to see my doctor, Glenn Finley, a naturopath who works out of Vermont. I brought Red, as I often do.  In Vermont. In holistic practices, it is not unusual to see dogs accompanying patients. I finally have a doctor I look forward to seeing. I see Glenn every couple of months, the visits usually run an hour to 90 minutes. He checks me out, asks me a bunch of questions, talks to me about my life. He asks how things are in the marriage, how active I am, goes over my diet, scribbles some notes. He often offers me a healthy recipe, gives me some holistic medicines, sometimes a bag of his special tea concoctions to strength my organs and calm my nervous system. He wants to know what is going on in my life. He takes some tests, checks my blood pressure. He is a passionate photographer, and we love to moon over the cameras we cannot afford.

It has been four years since I have since a traditional medical practitioner, and I well understand that conventional medicine is important and does many things well. In its current form, it was not a good approach for me, even though I imagine I am not done with traditional medicine in my life. There are times when you just need it. But I appreciate Glenn’s thoughtfulness, the ease of his manner and his office, his gentle but persistent educating of me when it comes to nutrition and the idea that food is the best medicine in the world, carefully considered. He always has some new ideas for me, I always learn something new. He always takes a few minutes to hang out with Red. It is easy to slip into rigid doctrines – all holistic medicine is good, all Western medicine isn’t. It isn’t that black and white. Medicine doesn’t fit nearly in those narrow positions any more than life does, or the idea of a “left” and a “right.”  We each have to find what we need. Glenn always sees the vitality in me, I always feel healthy around him. I am pleased to not be on any prescription medications.  My ideas about health have evolved greatly, and Glenn seems to be keeping me healthy. And it is always a pleasure to go see  him, something I do not usually associate with going to see a doctor.

That is health for me now.