“Nature is humble, Science is arrogant.” -my personal quote
We’ve been conditioned to mock traditional medicine—labeling it as outdated, mystical, or simply unscientific. But the truth? Modern medicine is often the one stuck in magical thinking.
We’ve bought into the belief that for every complex symptom, there’s a simple pill for every ill.
That’s not science—it’s reductionism [1].
The pharmaceutical model is rooted in the desire to transmute disease into health through synthetic “cures.” And while this mirrors ancient alchemical traditions, it completely ignores the foundational truth: we are more than molecules. We are ecosystems [2].
Health doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
It happens in relationship—with plants, people, microbes, mycelium, and the living Earth [3].
When our soil is stripped, our water is poisoned, and our air is polluted, our bodies mirror that dysfunction.
No pill can out-prescribe a toxic terrain.
The irony? While science claims objectivity, it often lacks humility. It forgets what indigenous and ancestral traditions have always known: true healing requires restoring balance to the entire web of life [4].
To shift perspective, we must decolonize our thinking.
We must remember that traditional knowledge is scientific—it’s just encoded differently.
Let’s stop asking, “What’s the magic bullet?”
And instead ask, “How can I tend the soil of my body and the Earth?”
A New Prescription
Note that I’m not talking about rejecting modern medicine at all perspective, but about a shift in perspective and building a new paradigm based on both ancient wisdom and scientific evidence. They each can hold their rightful place: as tools that are helpful when used appropriately.
To truly heal:
- Follow wisdom-keepers who teach ecological living and ancestral health.
- Invest in eco-conscious practices—from herbal medicine to composting.
- Support brands and businesses using regenerative systems.
- Grow food. Wildcraft medicine. Reconnect with the land.
- Join community efforts that protect biodiversity and clean up local environments.
- Advocate for climate justice as health justice.
This isn’t just a fad or a trend. This is VITAL to our continued existence as a species, and the co-creation of health across ecosystems. As above, so below. As the macrocosm, so the microcosm.
Being pro-health is being pro-Earth.
You are not separate from nature—you are nature.
And the more you remember that, the more whole you become.
References:
- Shelley, BhaskaraP. 2019. “Scientistic Reductionism and the ‘Dark Side’ of Modern Medicine: A Personal Reflection.” Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences 7 (2): 139. https://doi.org/10.4103/amhs.amhs_163_19.
- Dakubo, Crescenti Y. 2010. “Exploring the Linkages Between Ecosystems and Human Health.” In Springer eBooks, 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0206-1_1.
- Steffan, J. J., E. C. Brevik, L. C. Burgess, and A. Cerdà. 2017. “The Effect of Soil on Human Health: An Overview.” European Journal of Soil Science 69 (1): 159–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12451.
- Conversation, George Nicholas. 2018. “When Scientists &Quot;Discover&Quot; What Indigenous People Have Known for Centuries.” Smithsonian Magazine, February 20, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-science-takes-so-long-catch-up-traditional-knowledge-180968216/
