The human body can be a frustrating
thing. People think of it as something designed, something
engineered, with a central focus by which its functions are
determined.
But it isn't. It's a collection of
cells and systems that have achieved an emergent ability to function
as a whole. The fact that any one of these systems may come into
conflict with another without concern or recognition that there is a
conflict, or that this conflict can mean death or illness for the
overall organism is irrelevant.
For example, the histamine system will
misidentify small numbers of pollen particles or mold and mildew
spores as an attack on the body requiring an all-out defense. Then
there are things like asthma, diabetes, and a thousand other
conditions where the body is more or less fighting itself and losing.
And I'm not even going to get into what
the brain can do to you. Well, okay, I will. Ignore basic mood
disorders, which are relatively comprehensible. How about a
condition that compels you to pull out your own hair and eat it? Or
one that says you won't be comfortable with the fact that the door is
locked until you've opened, shut and locked it exactly three times?
What amazes me sometimes is just how
many of us lead lives without impossible complications. That we are
able to work around these myriad things that our own DNA throws at
us, seemingly just to see us dance, sometimes. We are our own worst
enemies, even when we're not.
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