Poison

“Are there really ‘poisons,’ or is it all a matter of dosage?”

~ Penn Jillette (paraphrased)

I had another stomach bug. Probably a universally shared response, but I hated it. I had a stomach bug, food poisoning, and then another bug. Except this time, it didn’t fade out. The symptoms escalated and added a funny heartbeat and headaches.

I went into full detective mode. Perhaps it was bad food again. Maybe the water filters were contaminated. I tried to see if there was a carrier at work infecting me. Office germ warfare seemed plausible.

Typical of me, I exhausted all the crazy paths and finally checked with my doctor. She immediately recognized the symptoms as too high of a dose of my newly added medication. I cut my dose in half and felt great the next day.

It seems obvious now, but I never considered the medicine. The medicine I was taking to feel better had the opposite effect. Not that I dismissed the medicine as the potential root cause. That thought never even crossed my mind. 

Sometimes, the source of my issue is right in front of me. It might even be that my actions aren't fixing, or are causing, the problem. Similarly, I might seek happiness in the same wrong areas. I might not notice the obvious solution. It might be that the very thing I cling to is the source of my discontent. 

Are the things I chase even capable of bringing satisfaction? Do I see the obvious solutions to my problem? While obvious doesn’t mean easy, will I commit to the better path?

Be curious, be kind, be whole, do good things.