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In Love Heals I state, "You don't need to be fixed; you just need to be healed." What's the difference? Freedom. Gentleness. Patience. Peace. Love.
Don't you need that?
It seems too obvious to state, but machines and organisms differ fundamentally. We don’t “heal” machines, we “fix” them. Living things heal according to their nature; “healing” is organic. Take a look at some of these differences, and notice how inherently mechanical, forced, rushed, and harsh our modern ideas and methods for healing are.
1. Nature of Healing
Organisms: Healing in living things is a biological process, involving inter-related systems. In humans, healing involves spiritual and emotional processes and systems as well as biology.
Machines: Machines don’t heal; they are “fixed” or repaired. Repair is an external process requiring outside intervention, such as replacing parts. A broken gear in a machine doesn’t "grow back" but must be manually fixed or replaced.
2. Autonomy
Organisms: Healing is autonomous and intrinsic. The body detects damage and initiates repair without external instructions, using systems such as the immune system or stem cells. For instance, living things are designed to maintain homeostasis, a dynamic process that enables living organisms to maintain a stable internal environment despite external changes.
Machines: Repair is not autonomous. It relies on outside intervention, not organic self-regulation such as homeostasis.
3. Energy and Resources
Organisms: Healing uses living internal resources (e.g., nutrients, energy from metabolism) to rebuild living tissues. For example, a plant may redirect sap to damaged areas; a human body uses proteins to repair muscles.
Machines: Repair requires external resources, like spare parts, fuel, or electricity. A car with a flat tire needs a new tire or patch kit applied by a mechanic, not its own "energy reserves."
4. Complexity and Adaptability
Organisms: Healing is adaptive and context-dependent. The body can adjust its response based on the injury’s severity or environment (e.g., scarring vs. full regeneration in some animals like starfish). Organisms can also adapt to prevent future damage, like callus formation on skin.
Machines: Repair is typically rigid and predetermined. A machine lacks the flexibility to adapt beyond its programming. Damage outside a machine’s design parameters often requires entirely new external solutions.
5. Time and Process
Organisms: Healing is often gradual, involving complex biological stages (e.g., inflammation, proliferation, remodeling in wound healing). It can take days to months, depending on the organism and injury.
Machines: Repair time depends on the availability of parts and expertise. Simple fixes (e.g., rebooting a computer) can be instant, while complex repairs (e.g., rebuilding an engine) may take longer than organic healing. Unlike organisms, machines don’t have a phased, self-regulating process.
6. Outcome
Organisms: Healing often aims to restore function, sometimes with imperfections (e.g., scars). In some cases, organisms can fully regenerate (e.g., a lizard regrowing a tail).
Machines: Repairs aim to restore original function, but the outcome depends on the quality of both the old and new parts and the skill of the mechanic. Unlike organisms, machines don’t form "scars" or adaptively regenerate; they either return to original specs or remain compromised.
Healing is not mechanical. You do not need to be fixed like a machine; you need to be healed. And healing involves the autonomous, adaptive complexity of innumerable inter-related systems within both you and your neighbor.
The "fixing" mentality is degrading: disrespectful of life, individuality, and personhood itself. You're not a machine, and neither is your neighbor. You are a living, organic group of inter-related processes, and so is your neighbor.