He was a geek and probably still is one. We played violins in the orchestra and goofed off after school on the playground. I was better at goofing off than playing the violin. I often wonder what happened to him. I can’t remember his last name or I would look him up.
Anyway, he used to say strange and wonderful things for a 5th grader. He was into electronics. I had no idea what those were. Like I said, he was a geek. At one point on the monkey bars he said to me, “You are a mass of conflicting impulses”.
At that point I’m sure I lost my grip and fell off the bars unable to control my laughter. What a cool thing to say and what a great insult. I wondered what it meant. Of course I made him repeat it several dozen times so that I could use this complex word combination to daze and amaze my friends and family. Not understanding, then or now, what electronics is or are, the idea that impulses could conflict never crossed my mind. But in fact they do.
Let me explain.
Our nervous systems are nothing more than a few billion, maybe trillion, connections. Everything in your body, every cell, every organ, every gland, and every muscle, indeed EVERYTHING is controlled by your nervous system. But not only controlled, also coordinated. The nervous system controls AND coordinates your entire world.
Every day.
All day.
All night.
Control and Coordinate.
Without any thanks from us.
Control and Coordinate what?
Every movement. Every heart beat. Every breath. Every glandular secretion (do you know how hard it is to work “glandular secretion” into a blog post?). Every thought. Every emotion.
We ask a lot of our nervous system. It takes information from all over the body, via impulses, coordinates them, and keeps your body working, and adapting to a changing environment, both inside of us and out.
So yes, we have the potential to be a mass of conflicting impulses, and often are just that, conflicting, uncoordinated. Chiropractors have a few words that are fearful and wonderful describing the same uncoordinated dynamic: subluxation and dysafferentation to name a few. That is what makes the chiropractic adjust so powerful? So if you have ever wondered why we say at our clinic, “we want you to come when you feel good”, the answer is so that we can adjust the body to coordinate itself. Without coordination you get sick, you get injured, you sleep “wrong”, you move in the shower and hurt yourself, you suppress your immune system, and your hormones can get whacked-out.
The list is endless. SO GET ADJUSTED. GET ADJUSTED REGULARLY. COME WHEN YOU ARE SICK (UNCOORDINATED). COME WHEN YOU ARE FEELING GREAT (MAINTAIN YOUR COORDINATION).
If anyone ever says to you “you are a mass of conflicting impulses”, thank them and then come to the office, quick.
Cheers,
ks
A special thanks to Daniel wherever you may be. Your 5th grade insult is more strange and wonderful to untangle every day.
Mar 21, 2018 at 4:47 PM
Awe 5th graders. Every one of them is a mass of conflicting impulses (and I'd know-I hang out with 30 of them everyday!). They are also impulsive and say things that are silly and stupid and profound. They do things that make your heart feel warm and fuzzy and also make you shake your head and do a face-palm. And some 5th graders are indeed wise beyond their years, like Daniel. It's amazing to me to think of all the things that my body does automatically that result in me being able to take another breath or think a composed thought. And to think some people believe that our complex human bodies came from single-celled organisms (ha!)........;)
Mar 21, 2018 at 10:48 AM
Thanks for your response, MaryKate! I bet you have a thousand stories you could share!
Mar 22, 2018 at 5:03 AM
Big LIKE. Thanks, Ken, Linda, & Allysson!
Mar 30, 2018 at 3:28 PM
Thanks, Michele!