The Irony of Chiropractic

Recently, I have been thinking about the irony of our profession. As chiropractors, we talk about living innately, practicing innately, adjusting innately, thinking innately and acting innately. The best example of an individual who is perhaps expressing innate intelligence better than at any other time in his/her life is the infant who is only expressing his or her own wants and needs, caring nothing about anyone else, including the two people who brought him/her into the world! That is totally self-centered, as it apparently needs to be at that stage of development. If Joey or Susie is hungry at 2 am, tough luck Mom and Dad, one of you is going to miss some sleep.

As with the infant, the innate intelligence of my body is only concerned about the well-being of the organism in which it resides…my body. It cares nothing about my neighbor’s body. It is always working to preserve the tissues in which it resides, and only those tissues. It cares nothing about another living organism unless that organism is of some use to my body and only as long as it is of use to me. When it ceases to be of value to my body, it will be eliminated or destroyed. Intestinal flora are an example. The innate intelligence of the body uses the E.Coli to aid in the digestion of food. As long as they are involved in that process, they are permitted to live. Outside the intestinal tract, they are harmful and the innate intelligence will work to destroy them. The innate intelligence of the body must act in that manner for self-preservation. Self preservation (self-centeredness, if you will) is a characteristic or quality of the innate intelligence that is absolutely necessary to life. We say that the innate intelligence will never do anything to harm the tissues in which it resides. The corollary of that is that everything that is being done is for the good of the body.

Here is the irony. Chiropractors are undoubtedly some of the most giving, gracious, unselfish and self-sacrificing people I have ever met. Their primary professional objective is to enable the innate intelligence in the bodies of as many people as possible to be expressing as much life as possible. Many of them desire to do that in as many members of the human race as possible. Sure, some chiropractors seem to be in it for themselves, to make as much money as they can with little concern for what it is they are really doing for the person who comes into their office. But it seems to me that those who really grasp the idea of innate intelligence become more and more giving and more concerned about their fellow man. They work long hours, often abusing their own bodies in order to serve people. Many set fees that make chiropractic available to as wide a segment of the population as they can.

Why is it that a profession based upon the principle of the innate intelligence of the body being concerned only about the body in which it resides is dedicated to the service of others? I believe that in part it is knowing what chiropractic can do for people that motivates us to serve them unselfishly. Chiropractic is a service profession and has some of the most wonderful servants in the world. Service is not based upon selfishness. We release the expression of a principle that is only concerned with self but we do it because of our concern for others. At this time of the year when we focus on giving and on the greatest Gift to the world, may you and yours be blessed by what you give to your community.