The Smartest Doctor In The World
A love letter to my little one on the marvels of the human body, and how we can take good care of it.
Back in 2018 I wrote a book.
Just a year earlier, I had become an auntie to the cutest little bundle of joy I had ever experienced. My dear Julian.
During his first year of life I was by his side more days than not. I was finding myself amazed by all the love and all the things he would do day after day, learning so effortlessly and to the speed of light. His first laugh, his first eye contact, his first flower discovery, his first taste of banana, his first touch of sand at the beach, his first paddles in the warm, salty waters of the Pacific Ocean. I couldn’t stop being mesmerised by his reactions as he naturally explored this world he was born into.
After a while, I just felt the nudge in my heart to write down everything I was witnessing. I felt the urge to write him letters to record every milestone, hoping that one day he could read it all himself and realise what a marvellous thing his life and the human experience can be.
Through these letters, I wanted him to know what life is like - what I have known so far in my experience. What it is like to navigate your surroundings, to discover your body, to explore the flatlands of your home and garden, to feel the unwavering friendship of those loyal furry companions, and the warm, cozy love of our closest family members.
I wanted him to know what it is like to grow into larger groups of people, classmates, strangers who become friends, teachers who become guides. How it feels to belong. Learning how to interact with others; discovering values such as respect in all our differences, while embracing and learning from each other. Eventually, to start realising the vast, complex and beautiful web of emotions that this human experience is.
On a normal summer’s day in February of 2018, I sat down to write. All these thoughts fluttering in my mind travelled all the way down to my chest, towards my arms, hands and fingers, making it out into the world. Writing these letters became my regular morning routine for three months. I would jump excitedly out of bed every morning with a big, loving purpose, while enjoying a Costa Rican summer at home.
After three months, the main draft was ready. And after a year of editing work, the draft suddenly felt like a book. Tears watered down my cheeks. The joy, the pride, the disbelief mixed with a sense of accomplishment. It was done.
Christmas of 2019 arrived and with it, a tiny present wrapped in all the love: Dear Julian: Welcome Letters to The World was about to be in Julian’s hands forever.
Today, I want to share with you one of these letters from the book, in which I briefly explain to my dear Julian how our human body works, how amazing it is and all the wonders it can do on its own - specially when we take good care of it.
I hope you enjoy as much as I did while writing it!
Chapter Two | Letter One: Why Do We Get Sick?
Hello my dear Julian!
I’m thrilled we’ve completed the first chapter where we talked about how we come into the world – what a marvellous journey, isn’t it? Now we begin the next important leg of this journey where we will explore more of this lovely tiny body you’re living in. Ready? Let’s go!
So, are you feeling well today?
I hope so, my dear.
You see, there will be days when you’ll be feeling great and full of energy, ready to rock all the games; and there will be days when you’ll be feeling not so well. Sometimes, our body is not working as it should be doing. Perhaps it’s just overwhelmed by the amount of things it has to do – like when we eat too much, and we feel a bit bloated and sickly in our stomachs for a few hours. Sometimes it’s because we have picked up a virus (a tiny infection that stops our body from working properly) – and until our body has removed that virus, we feel uncomfortable symptoms, such as a headache, a stomach cramp, a pain here and there, mild things.
The wonderful news is that in almost every case, our body will deal with the problem.
Your body has its own defence system, able to recognise and fight any conditions and any organisms that can make us feel ill.
Sometimes an illness can be quick, gone in a few hours or after a good night’s sleep.
Sometimes it can be tougher and take longer to go away. In any case, the body will do its best to get us back to healthy. And if it can’t? That’s where doctors step in and help, making sure we’re doing the right things to heal in the quickest time.
Do not worry. Health up and downs are a natural part of the cycle of normal life (and feeling ill is usually a sign that our body is working properly, a sign it’s fighting to make us feel good again). Pain and illness can feel scary – but you can’t live your life in fear of them, or you’ll never be able to feel happy. Instead, you must live – as we all must – with the knowledge that your body is the smartest doctor in the whole world, and it will look after you until your very last day of this life.
Remember, your body is meant to grow old. You are meant to live for an amazingly long time, with your body successfully repairing itself again and again and again. Right from the very first day of your life, your body knows exactly how to keep you safe and healthy, and it will never stop working to keep you feeling good.
(You should listen to what your body says, dear Julian. It’s really smart. Also, it’s important you take good care of it, so that it can keep taking care of you.)
As babies, we look clean and pure and brand new – which is absolutely true, since we’ve just been made! We are not aware of much at first, but the world quickly starts teaching us how everything works, using our senses (remember how they work?) and our emotions, thoughts and experiences.
As we continue to grow, we go from being babies to children, then teenagers, then adults and finally elderly people. This process takes many many years – and every second of every one of those years, your body will be hard and great at work, keeping you healthy and free of illness. And there’s many things you can do to help it! You will learn as you grow up.
As you get older, you will discover your body creates little aches and pains here and there, just to remind you to look after it a bit better.
These aren’t things to worry about, my dear. Life is too busy to waste on worries like that! You live properly by making the most from what you are given every day.
Every day of life is precious, filled with the wonder of discovering things, of walking, eating, tasting, feeling, hearing and seeing. Worries and fears stop you from living your life that way – so they’re things to avoid.
So however you’re feeling today, dear Julian, enjoy it! Go play, smell the flowers, feel the sun, breath deeply, feel the joy, laugh hard and hug your mum and dad. So many things and feelings we get to experience!
It’s all a special gift from your body – the best friend you will ever have.
See you soon, my boy!
Love,
Auntie Mariana
Thank you for reading! I hope you find inspiration in my words to discover the wonders of your own life. Honestly, means the world to me that you can do so. Also, it makes me so happy that you are here. May we grow into a big, big family of feel gooders soon enough! See you all soon. :)
Love,
Mariana