Health

What is health?

Health is a vast topic to be touched on. It is a matter of life. It is something everyone strives for. It is probably the ultimate goal every living being would like to reach.

So what is health?

Naturopaths may say that health comes from within. When a person is mentally healthy, the body will know. Most often, our elders will advice us to sleep early. Sleep is the only way that our minds get to rest and when the mind is resting, it is calm. Tranquility promotes stillness in the body and when spread throughout the body, it heals.

Nutritionists may say that the body needs the right nutrition to thrive. Our forefathers used to only eat what is dug from the ground, harvested from the farm, and hunted from the forest. Somehow along the generations, we have depleted the earth so much that nutrition is scarce. Therefore, we have to depend on concentrated liquids and tablets to keep ourselves nourished. Health supplements.

Chinese medical practitioners may agree with naturopaths and nutritionists to some extent with the addition of certain herbs and animal parts that are the ultimate nutrition for good health. Whenever we visit a sinseh, they access our health with visual inspection and more. Sometimes we really wonder how the traditional Chinese medical practitioners can tell all about our internal health by just observation and the feel of our pulse. They seem to know it all.

Ayurveda practitioners may agree with all of the above in their own way. Ayurveda promotes vegan diet for all. We can actually get all nutrition from plants. Some may not agree at this juncture as we have been educated that growing children need animal fat and protein for healthy growth. However, there is always a green replacement. Fats can come from nuts and avocadoes. Proteins can come from beans. Everything has its alternatives. It is in the mind; the willpower to overcome our urge for meats.

Spiritual leaders may agree to nature’s path. When we understand nature, we evolve around it and we live within it. Everything on earth has life and life itself can promote health. When we are healthy spiritually, we are healthy mentally and physically. Meditation is the key to achieving all goals in life. When we meditate, we clear our minds of clutter and noise. With clarity, we can tap into our needs and focus in the subconscious mind. We can manifest anything. The universe will arrange itself for us.

Modern medical practitioners may agree to none of the above. Modern medicine is the new way of life for us now. When we have fever, we are given paracetamol. When we have flu, we are given antihistamine. When we have cough, we are given cough syrup. When we have a pain, we are given pain killers. When we are just generally not feeling well, we are given antibiotics. When we are born, we are given vaccinations. When we are seriously ill, we are inserted with tubes to help us survive. When we are lifeless, they finally pull the plug. Everything goes by the book, the Western medicine book.

We now live in the world that is moving so fast that we want to be cured the fastest way possible. We lack the time to understand what our body needs. Each person is different but our bodies are born to function in a similar way. With our hustle and bustle, we can only believe what we can see, not what we feel. So when the body shows us symptoms, we tend to treat the symptoms. This tricks the mind that we are back to good health when in actual fact, we are not cured of the disease.

We all ought to take time to explore ourselves. Now is a good time. We have all been given a chance to stay home for the longest period of time in our lifetime. Mother Nature has given us a chance to rejuvenate, recuperate, and reconnect with ourselves and nature. This is a good time to quiet our minds and ponder on the things most important to us. Life. Period.

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.    

Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), Ancient Indian religious leader and founder of Buddhism, 480BCE-400BCE