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In Good
Health
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Health: According
to the definition set by the WHO: Health is a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity.
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: the condition
of being sound in body, mind, or spirit.
Whole: According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:: free of
wound or injury, unhurt; free of defect or impairment, intact; physically
sound and healthy; free of disease or deformity; mentally or emotionally
sound |
We can see that these two words: “health” and “whole” are quite
similar in their meaning. To be healthy also means to be whole.
Human being is a psychosomatic organism. It is one unit - interrelated and
intertwined. What affects the mind also affects the body and vice versa.
Health cannot be said to be exclusively of the mind or of the body. To
divide the mind and body as two separate units would be wrong. You are the
body and you are the mind.
Health is becoming a problem for most of us because of our daily lifestyle
and the physical environment around us. Pollution, population and poverty
are on the rise. Stress has become a common thing among both the
young and the old. There are prevalent not only many physical illnesses
and diseases but also psychological. In the big cities, the exposure to
television and other artificial media, pollution and a mechanical way of
life are one of the major causes of ill health.
Human beings are a part of this planet and whatever happens in the world,
economically, sociologically, and environmentally does affect every human
being. Human beings whether they live in America or India are
basically, constitutionally same - both physically and
psychologically. If one observes a little closely one would find that
psychologically, basically consciousness is shared by all human beings.
There are all kinds of influences, both visible and invisible around us -
not spiritually, but environmentally, biologically and psychologically
which have an effect on the overall organism.
Human beings, as other life forms function on energy. To work you need
energy, to think you need energy, to eat and digest you need energy and so
on. This energy is mostly wasted due various forms of psychological
conflicts, stress, daily problems, habits and overindulgence. When there
is a lack of energy, there is a lack of health. When energy is
wasted or blocked or suppressed, there manifest various forms of illnesses
and diseases.
To be healthy means to be whole - psychologically and physically -
a total human being. However, we are fragmented individuals. We divide
life and living into compartments - personal and professional life,
religious and everyday life - and we also divide ourselves through giving
ourselves and psychologically sticking to various labels - Hindu, Muslim,
Christian or Indian, American, Egyptian and so on.
Again, we have lost that relationship, that touch, that contact with
nature. In our daily pursuits and problems we have isolated ourselves as
different, separate individuals each seeking his own security. We may go
for a walk on a beach or go to a hill station on a holiday and say “how
nice’, “how beautiful” but that is just a verbalization, a superficial
response. We do not feel related to nature, even though one may profess to
be a “nature lover”, as though one is outside of and separate from nature.
To have that relationship with nature, to be related and to be sensitive
towards it brings about a healthy state in itself.
Health also implies simplicity and balance. Simplicity, is not
merely outward simplicity but more so an inward simplicity of being. We
have made our minds complicated; we have cultivated knowledge and the
intellect, thereby bringing about an imbalance. Intellect, is only a part
of our being and has its own place. Whereas the human structure also
includes observation, perception and the senses. When senses operate as a
whole then the intellect has its right place. To be simple means to be
free from accumulation in terms of knowledge, experiences and various
repetitive pleasures and habits.
The body has its own intelligence. If left to itself, it has a tremendous
capacity to heal itself. But the mind imposes its own pursuits and desires
on it thereby making it insensitive and lacking of energy. When the mind
is not imposing itself on the body, then the body, left to itself, given
rest and not abused, can function most healthily and efficiently.
The most important thing in all this is awareness. One needs to aware
of oneself - one’s reactions, responses and sensations. One has to be
sensitive. One has to be aware of one’s own body, its demands, and
pursuits and the sensations, the feelings. To know about your mind or body
by reading about it or by accumulating information is different from being
aware of it. Information is merely words and is not the direct
experiencing of one’s own total mechanism. When you are aware, sensitive,
then you take care of yourself, then you do not overindulge or eat the
wrong foods - not because you have read that it should or should not be
done - but because you are aware. Then you have the feeling of
responsibility. Then you eat the right foods, take the right amount of
exercise, sleep and so on. Without awareness of how one’s body and mind
operate, being healthy or whole is not possible. When one is sensitive,
aware of oneself - then out of that awareness and sensitivity, the body
and mind, as a whole unit can function most simply and intelligently.
Author profile: Ashutosh Ghildiyal
is a salaried professional based in Mumbai, India. He was born in
Lucknow in 1984, where he completed his schooling. He completed his
graduate studies in New Delhi and his post-graduate education in Mumbai.
He is the author of To Think or Not to Think and Other stories (Book),
various blogs, articles and short stories.
Email:
ashutoshghildiyal@hotmail.com
Blog:
http://ashutosh-ghildiyal.blogspot.com
Freelance Health / Nutrition Writers, Web Content Writing Services, India
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