Let me begin by admitting that I am as guilty as anyone of fostering what I refer to as the "Myth of the Fragmented Man".
Second, since our language hasn't as yet acquired a means other than the word "man" of speaking of us humans as a collective, I am using the word in that manner.
What I am trying to say is that I am talking about all of us, not just the male of the species.
So where did I get my idea of the "Myth of the Fragmented Man"? Well, the concept was rattling around my brain for years.
I had discussed it with my wife and with others, but never quite got a handle on what to say about it or how to present it.
Then one day, we moved, packed up a bunch of our books, and then unpacked them at the new house.
As I pulled one old second hand book out of a box, I rememberedhaving read something in it years ago that had interested me, so I tossed it on the floor beside the bed.
That night, as I lay in bed reading, I encountered this comment: "Although parts and processes may be isolated for analytical purposes, they cannot be understood without reference to the dynamic unified whole that is more than their sum.
To say, for example, that man is made up of certain elements is a satisfactory description only for those who intend to use him as fertilizer.
" -Taken from "Perspectives in Human Development - Nursing Throughout The Life Cycle" by Doris Cook Sutterly, RN, MSN, and Gloria Ferraro Donnelly, RN MSN.
Published by J.
P.
LIppincott Company, 1973.
For years, you and I have seen a huge growth in books, magazines, products, and now websites, which purport to have the answer to one problem or another.
Spend a few moments browsing the Internet, or stand in any supermarket checkout line, and you will be bombarded by headlines proclaiming that "this product", "that exercise", "these six steps" will lead to fame, fitness, weight loss, weight gain, bigger bosoms, smaller bosoms, better sex, stopping smoking, wealth...
and so on.
Pick any subject, and it seems that you can find vast numbers of "experts", including myself, who offer their "catch of the day" to solve some problem which besets humanity.
However, all these offerings have one fatal flaw.
Either the writer, the reader, or both have fallen into the trap which I have referred to as "The Myth Of The Fragmented Man".
As unfortunate as this is, however, it is a fact that in many ways it is difficult to escape the trap.
Most readers of popular writing will lack either the time, the inclination, the training, the education, the experience, and the dedication required to lay out all the pieces of the particular puzzle they are interested in and then put them in their proper places.
Those who publish these bits of information realize this and therefore are generally interested in short offerings which, as a result, either briefly tackle one aspect of a problem, or solution, or provide a longer list of generalities which can be very briefly summed up.
The writers, such as myself, know that they are limited to lengths of between about 500 and 1500 words or so, and, realizing that they can only cover one topic, and get the public and the publisher interested in one topic, construct their articles and websites accordingly.
Subjects such as creating wealth, improving health, self-improvement, improving the world, or weight loss really need to include many guidelines structured for a diverse audience.
What actually occurs is that short articles are written which tout one pill, one process, one activity, one point of view as being the pivot upon which all improvement depends.
To make matters worse, the audience itself seems to believe that each new individual idea is the solution to whatever is the problem of the moment.
For example, cortisol is a natural hormone which has a genuine purpose in the healthy functioning of the human body.
In our modern society, however, it often is forced into a position where its results are negative, and it CAN contribute to weight gain.
This IS a fact.
However, at least one company wishing to sell its weight loss product trumpets, that cortisol is a "nasty little hormone" which creates fat around the stomach and hips.
As stated earlier, cortisol CAN be a contributor to weight gain, but there are life styles which can easily counteract these negative aspects of this one hormone while allowing it to effectively do its assigned job.
The confusion in the reader of the advertising, of course, is that they are looking for the one "magic bullet" that defines weight gain and weight loss, when the truth is that they are made up of a huge interlaced network of physical activity, environment, heredity, diet, current physical and emotional health, time of the day, time of the month...
the list goes on.
So, the next time you read about the importance of _______ (fill in the blank) on the subject of _______ (fill in the blank), be aware that you may only be seeing a portion of the fragmented man.
We are in all ways part of a bigger construct than the manner in which one hormone is manufactured and used, one characteristic is raised or lowered, one step is taken or ignored.
However, as the old proverb reminds us, taking that one step may be what starts us on a journey that can end we know not where.
I am not suggesting that we ignore any piece of data or information simply because it stands alone, illustrating only a fragment of the man or the puzzle.
That piece may indeed be the one we were lacking to construct the whole.
I am suggesting that each piece should be understood as being only a single, yet important brick in the structure of the whole, and, as such, should be treated with respect and with some degree of reservation until how it fits with other pieces of the puzzle becomes more clear to us.
If, however, we no longer wish to perpetuate the "Myth of the Fragmented Man"...
or world, or universe, it is incumbent upon us to actively seek out the other fragments and learn how they join with others to create the whole.