I’m a big fan of the books and show series Outlander. It’s not often a story captures my attention the way this one has and sticks with me for as long as this one has too. I first read Outlander many years ago and continue to be an avid follower waiting for the next book to come out and the next season to start on TV. I tend to be more of a book enthusiast in this situation but deeply appreciate seeing the characters come to life on the screen and seeing the scenes I recall from the books be acted.
If you’ve never seen this popular show or read the books, which are massive (there are currently 8 of them with at least 2 more coming), then I’ll give you a couple highlights. The story contains a little bit of everything from steamy romance, deep comforting relationships, family, adventure, history, fantsay, drama, excitment, and more. It is complex and entertaining while making you feel deeply connected to the characters. There are lots of social media groups that explore both books and TV where you can really see the passion people have on this story.
What speaks to me most in real life with this story is the tie in to nature throughout the story. It is the backdrop to beautiful scenery and the resource used in healing and supporting health at the hands of the main herioine Claire. She is an outsider, the word Sassenach meaning English person or outsider in Scotland, in this time she is in and in her knowledge. Her complex situation is certainly relatable to anyone trying to do something different than what is going on around you and generally accepted in society, regardless of the time you’re in!
While I believe there is an increase in what is available today for natural products and options for health support we are still very much outsiders in this cause. People who see or hear about it for the first time tend to not believe it viable and have a high resistance to trying it. I hesitated myself in the beginning. This problem is further complicated when there are so many products that are adulterated and contaminanted resulting in harm or lack of benefits. It makes it harder to convince someone to try it. Yet I did try it and not to sound dramatic but it has changed my life and view on a lot of things.
That’s just it. When we are new to something or it’s different than what we’ve tried before, we gravitate towards thinking it’s not as good as what we know. It won’t work. It can’t work even. We become suspect of the benefits, value, quality and usefulness. Our opinion is formed without even trying it or is based on an experience we had with something inferior that wasn’t positive. It’s not that we don’t believe there could be something better but that it can’t be as simple as a plant or tree. Surely not! As a modern people we have advanced beyond what nature can do for us in health, mentally, physically and financially, right?
Plants, trees, and natural element are still very prevelant in our healthcare. No one can discount the improvements we mentally feel when we step outside on a beautiful sunny day for instance. We also can’t dispute that body is an wonderfully complex creation that can do remarkable things like heal itself. I will not say western medicine doesn’t have a place because it does but I believe we don’t give our bodies and minds enough credit. It’s not entirely our own doing in this way of thinking either.
I’d like to point out a reference in the Outlander story where I think this difference in view came from or at least can be observed well. It is in season 2 when the Frasers are in France and Claire encounters medical practitioners who are practicing “advanced” medicine. Society is learning there are means to cures, treatments and health support that are more effective and “modern” than what has been available to them previously. Natural treatments are seen as ineffective, outdated and used by witches and poor poeple who don’t know any better. I found in my own research it is about this time in history that change started to emerge in how health conditions were treaeted. Rich and elite people turned to these newer treatments because they were the latest thing and believed more effective than flowers and herbs. The gap between western medicine and natural means widened and continues today.
While there are a growing number of doctors and health care leaders who are open to considering, testing and using natural means it is still considered by many a back up or comfort to the patient only. Having worked in healthcare the past 30 years I see it firsthand the gap between western medicine and natural health daily. As someone who has used natural treatments in my own health needs, that of my family and have had friends do it too I know it’s more than a comfort. What I believe is we will never fully reconcile this gap and it comes down to simply trying it for yourself.
We have so much power of our own health than we even realize. It is estimated that almost 80% of our common every day health care needs could be self-managed and treated without intervention of a healthcare professional. That equates to significant dollar savings as well if you consider 8 out of 10 office visits could be avoided. At roughly $120 – $200 per visit that’s $960 – $1600 per person in a family and a sizable savings to health care deductibles, co-insurance and co-payments. Health insurance costs can easily wipe out a famly’s savings too so by not having to spend the money on things we can take care of we are better positioned to pay for the emergencies when they arise.
For me, living natural and using natural medicine in my own life is about feeling my best and not being in debt to support my needs. Too many of us carry a lot of debt that seems impossible to get rid of and we live paycheck to paycheck as a result. Our lives are complicated, our health is poor, our diets terrible and there is a lot of uncertainities and stress we all face every day.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be rid of it or not have so much of it? Wouldn’t it be nice to have life be a little less complicated and a lot less expensive? Maybe that is why the Outlander series appeals to me so much. Her life on the other side of the stones is fuller, richer and in so many ways simpler by returning to a more natural based lifestyle. Well, I’m sure it’s that and because her Scottish husband is incredibly hot.
Being a Sassenach in today’s modern world isn’t easy. People will look at your strange, question what you’re doing and say you’re wrong. They’ll say what you are doing won’t work too! The best advice I can give you is do your own research, try it yourself and use high quality products for best results. We still live in a world where being ourselves, making our own choices and living as we see right is still possible and entirely deserving by every one of us. For that reason alone I am ok being a modern day natural Sassenach. The other reason is because I have seen for myself it does work and it saves a ton of money.
I invite you to take the free Lifestyle & Wellness Questionnaire to learn more. Consider it a safe passage through the Outlander stones to see what’s on the other side. https://forms.gle/9NKh5rJ4Ck3WJJ2P6
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