Diverse experiences have shaped me, including living in Switzerland for a year and then Congo-DRC for 6 years. I was involved in community development as a member of the Baha’i Faith. Western academic credentials in social sciences counted for little compared to learning to adapt to language and cultural differences. The europeans had a thousand years to perfect their traditions and the Africans much longer, living close to the land raising goats, chickens and root crops. Everything was ‘organic’, a term just emerging in Canada when I returned in the 1980s. Later, I chose to study natural healing methods including Shiatsu from Japan and Acupuncture from China and guided clients to eat basic whole foods, fast periodically and practice simple living.

Later consulting work with emerging businesses, during the dot com boom, revolved around private capital financing to bring innovation to market. This chapter of about 15 years included many adventures and lessons. Surprisingly, the nation’s health was in decline with an increasing incidence of chronic illness, much of it labeled ‘auto-immunity’ today. My own diagnosis in 2012 brought this into focus with a condition called CLL-leukemia for which there is no known cause and a range of experimental treatments, once the condition has advanced. My efforts to apply natural health principles has helped me to remain in the ‘watch and wait’ phase. A wonderful marriage and country living in rural Canada make up my ‘context’.

Planet Health is a forum which invites consumers to look at what they can do to remain healthy. For those who are already challenged with a known disease, they might gain confidence by strengthening the areas under their control. It costs nothing to investigate and can pay dividends for life. Health is mostly in our hands.