Humor: The Prejudices of Healthy People

This was meant to be a silly thing that a friend (not in my dog circles) sent me. However it belies some assumptions that I can't stop thinking about. First of all here is the platitude. The punch line is at the end:

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How Enlightened Are You? A Test:

If you can live without caffeine or nicotine;
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains;
If you can resist complaining;
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you any time;
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment;
If you can ignore friends' limited educations and never correct them;
If you can treat the rich and poor alike;
If you can face the world without lies or deceit;
If you can conquer tension without medical help;
If you can relax without liquor;
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs;
If you can have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, gender, sexual preference, or politics

— then you have almost reached the same level of spiritual development as your dog.

ANONYMOUS
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Cute. However it reveals some really interesting prejudices of some who consider themselves striving to enlightenment. The key is what does spirtitual enlightenment have to do with your level of health. Ok, some Kudalini Yoga people would say everything, but personally I see them as separate which is totally non-holistic of me but I think a great stride towards sanity and less self-judgement, because honestly what does caffiene have to do with spiritual development. Really??

Despite my MS, I am one of those healthy people. I try not to be an annoying healthy person. I do not scold or cajole or convince anyone (well besides Terri, who needs no such convincing), unless they ask me to about diet or exercise or other healthy habits. I am not in the health gestapo and I think that people should make there own choices. Not to mention our idea of what is healthy changes as our knowledge changes. Some alcohol is actually good for you, same with caffiene, and there are a ton of people who need some sort of herbal or medicinal help sleeping. That does not make them inheritly less spiritual and I think it's completely arrogant of those in the no caffiene, no alcohol, no fun crowd (I'm in that crowd I get to say that - not by choice, more by what my body prefers) to claim that they are somehow more spiritually evolved. I believe the correct response to that is: Oh eff off.

So for fun, I'll take this test (be a fun one to put on facebook)

If you can live without caffeine or nicotine
Yes. Well except for dark chocolate, if you haven't be paying attention that's actually good for you.

If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains
What's so wrong with complaining? The point is to whine all you like, but work through it, not suppress you feelings and frustration with the healing process.

If you can resist complaining
See above. Oh and my dogs complain too, unless my nut ball is chasing a sheep or a squirrel.

If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you any time
Well ok.

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment
Well ok.

If you can ignore friends' limited educations and never correct them
No, I correct them. Politely.

If you can treat the rich and poor alike
No, I give the rich a much harder time.

If you can face the world without lies or deceit
Wow, you tell the complete truth the whole time?
Remind me not to trust you with sensitive information.

If you can conquer tension without medical help
Just because I can does not make me more enlightened.

If you can relax without liquor
You really aren't any fun are you?

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs
Yes, but piss off.

If you can have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, gender, sexual preference, or politics
Oh I sure do when it comes to Right Wing Assholes, and I don't feel that's something I have to rise above.

So I guess this means that my dogs are more enlightened than me. Guess I should tell them. I'm sure they'll say they already knew that.