Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Growing up, my father used to have a saying that translated to “Slow Down, I am in a Hurry.” This was his version of the famous quote from Napoleon Bonaparte, “Dress me slowly, I am in a hurry.” I heard this saying many times growing up, more so when I was learning to drive! The wisdom of the world reiterates this in sayings, allegories and stories, exalted Patience as a superior virtue and a natural, universal truth, such that “Good things come to those who wait.”

Today, the idea of patience may remain, but is seldom practiced voluntarily. Speed and instant gratification are the norm and expectation in every aspect of life, including health and healing. When someone gets sick or injured, they are wished a FAST recovery, rather than a complete return to health.

This I reflected in modern medicine, where the goal is to eliminate pain or discomfort as quickly as possible using super concentrated drugs, or using invasive methods. Forget the old methods of examination by palpating, listening, smelling, observing, and questioning used by physicians and natural healers of old. Today its lab tests, imaging, and pharmaceutical drugs. The latter of which are often meant to hide the uncomfortable symptoms rather than heal the underlying pathology.

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Alarmingly, this same pattern of approach has been creeping into traditional and alternative medicine for a long time. In some modalities of natural healing, the expectations of immediate results may be even higher than with modern, allopathic medicine. What do I mean by this?

Focusing on traditional herbs and herbal remedies, with the growing awareness, popularity and the enormous amount of available information, herbal therapy is subjected to unrealistic expectations on the immediacy of results. For example, Its is not unusual for doctors to try a different drug, sometimes repeatedly when their initial choice does not yield results. Herbal solutions however, are often discarded after one or two doses if immediate results are not perceived. It is not uncommon to hear people say “Oh, I tried that and it doesn’t really work,” when referring to an herbal remedy.

At Shen, we have been approached repeatedly by large wellness companies interested in our herbal products. We have entertained collaboration by private labelling our products or even formulating custom herbals for distribution as this would allow us to reach more people than we can as just Shen Martial Arts. However, we have not done so because we have been asked to alter our products or to create products that will give users some immediate sensation, such as heat for example, that users will perceive as an effect by the herbal. The key to these large businesses is that the user feels something that is interpreted as immediate, even if it has nothing to do with the purpose of the herbal remedy.

Herbal medicine takes time to yield results. Of course, often, there may be fast benefits, but by and large, the results will be subtle and gradual as the herbs work with the body to promote improvement. Herbal medicine is characterized by subtle, gradual, incremental improvement, sometimes unperceived for some time. Until recently, all types of medicine around the world have known this. There is a reason why the person undertaking treatment is referred to as a “Patient.”

The alternative is harsh, aggressive, super concentrated substances, that produce side effects, and can alter and create other latent health issues. Yes, they may give immediate relief of some condition, but if they are not eliminating the cause of the health issue, then they are just appeasing the disturbance, but not resolving it. Go fast and you may never get there. Go slow and you will get there in the shortest amount of time.

It is true that herbs are amazing, and literally magical. Made properly and used correctly, they synergize with your body and enhance the body’s internal healing power. Herbals will help the body heal from serious, long-standing, life-threatening conditions some that have been gestating for years or even decades. It stands to reason that it may take time to feel the results to manifest noticeably. It is unreasonable to have had an illness for 10 years, yet expect noticeable improvement after only a few doses.

The more serious the problem and the longer it has afflicted you, then probably the longer you will need to continue our herbal treatment. Find a reliable source of authentic traditional herbal remedies and be consistent, persistent and most of all, be PATIENT. Good things come to those who wait.