As I write this I’m sitting at the airport in Vietnam on my way to Laos.

The ride to the airport from Halong Bay was almost 4 hours, and in that time as I gazed out the window the thoughts came pouring in, with the visions displayed to my right.

As I watch a farmer spraying his fields in a t-shirt and shorts, I think about how that chemical impact will affect his future generations.
As I look to the sky I wonder how much of the cloud cover is smog, not fog.
As I hear all the honking horns, smell the emissions and witness the lack of discipline with road rules I wonder…
How does this area of the world maintain their health? Do they complain about the same health issues we do?

North America has such different standards when it comes to health. Our perception is to prevent everything we can. To achieve the impossible. We don’t want to regret the decisions we have made so we set up the highest standard of health care. Our ‘safety standards’ are world renowned! All of this leads me to wonder, do we have a better life or just think we do? How can this culture get away with such a lack of order and safety and yet still have a long life expectancy?

Their traditional medicine is based on nourishing the blood and vital energy rather then concentrating on symptoms specifically. If the focus is to restore harmony, could this be their secret? The advice I get when trying to cross the street is to “just keep moving”. If you stop you’re screwed. I wonder if this is a simple way at looking at their philosophy. They don’t live in fear like we do.

Most of us have heard the concept of ‘what we see, we see only in ourselves’. This breeds the concept that our bodies mirror our mental state. If someone can’t let go of their past by stuffing unprocessed emotions and claiming their fake smiles, they tend to hold on to toxins…literally. I can’t help but think our burdened health is largely due to our toxic thoughts. I’ve noticed personalities that are quick to let things go often have a body that gets away with more than the norm.

Could this be the difference between our cultures? Could they be mastering the ability to let go? To release attachment to what was lost? To go with the flow?