DEEP THOUGHTS

MONDAYS 10AM

BEING HEALTHY IS A CHOICE AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

The saying that “Health is wealth” rings almost like a pop culture all on its own. we must therefore understand what it means to be healthy and stay healthy. There are people who take good care of their body, but easily give in to depression, worry, anxiety and even with all the money in the world, they develop severe physical ailments such as cancer, heart diseases, High Blood Pressure (HBP), destruction of various organs in the body and possibly premature death, while some people who are not influenced by these negative feelings do not take care of their physical body and also suffer various degree of sicknesses. This also shows that being unhealthy is not limited to a certain class of people like the rich or poor, but everyone is vulnerable to it.

In the world today, especially in the developing countries, there has always been a struggle to be able to make ends meet that honestly no attention is paid to well-being of an individual. It is further worsened by the fact there is no viable health scheme by the government, no well-stocked hospitals and the few well-stocked ones are inaccessible to majority of the populace. Hence, so many people resort to self-medication and sensationally, inaccurate health tips which have not been medically proven and may be very dangerous to the human health.

Various perception about the benefits of a healthy life by various people. One of such is Dalai Lama who said “Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that is very important for your health.” Also, Joyce Meyer, a popular Gospel preacher says “I believe that the greatest gift you can give to your family and the world is a healthy you”. Kris Carr has this to say “If you don’t think your anxiety, sadness, depression and stress impact your physical health, think again. All of these emotions trigger chemical reactions in your body, which can lead to inflammation and a weakened immune system. Learn how to cope, sweet friend. There will always be dark days and lastly Buddha has this to say “Without health life is not life, it is only a state of languor and suffering- an image of death.

With all these various views on health benefits , but one thing they agree on is that good health must begins from the inside: the psychological well-being of a man first must be in perfect order. This means that health must start from the inside first before anything you do outside can be successful. The mind must be healthy always and not subjected to these negative feelings. The truth is that life is full of ups and downs and these negative feelings must always surface but as Kris Carr said “we must learn how to cope with them”.

One important thing we must know about being healthy is that we must love ourselves first. When we do that, we exude happines and eliminate any form of inferiority complex. When we do that, one of the avenues through which depression, stress, anxiety comes in is closed and a healthy attitude begins to surface. As Tom Stoppard puts it “A healthy attitude is contagious but don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier”. In other words, it is every human being’s responsibility to be healthy. Imagine a world, where everyone has a healthy attitude, the feeling is indescribable, almost like heaven on earth.

The next thing is to have a positive attitude towards everything that happens in life. As Kris Carr said “There will always be dark days”, therefore developing a positive mental attitude is very important. This is because when we dwell on past mistakes, failures, sorrows, etc we tend to invite the negative feelings that will in the long run hurt us badly. This is another avenue in which they come in and developing a positive attitude is a way to close it and thereafter an optimistic approach is realized in which you see the good things even in bad events.      

The next thing which is the most obvious is eating well, keeping a healthy environment, washing of dirty clothes, regular exercise, etc. These are also important because even if one develops a healthy and positive attitudes and does not adhere to this, that individual is not healthy and it is all for nothing. To highlight the importance of it, Buddha said “To keep the body in good health is a duty….. Otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear”. This clearly shows the importance of a healthy body to a sound mind. In as much as the mind is very important for healthy purposes.

Therefore in this year 2018 and even beyond, we must endeavor to make sure that we are completely and perfectly whole from the inside out and when we engage in them, we will prosper.

Odigwe Jilams

Jilams Odigwe is an enthusiastic writer who borders the line between a realist and optimist. His love for art is fluid, which makes Bon vivant of some sort...

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