Our Responsibility to Ourselves (and the world)

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“Wellness is the complete integration of body, mind, and spirit - the realization that everything we do, think, feel, and believe has an effect on our state of wellbeing.” - Greg Anderson.

From the moment we took our first breath on this Earth, we accepted the precious gift of life. For this privilege, and unbeknownst to us then, we made a contract with God (or however you call/honor this higher being), the rest of the world, and the Universe to do what we need to make this world a better place to live most notably, in peace and harmony with each other.

Every day the mass media presents us with stories of fellow beings who abuse this privilege and do not honor their end of the contract. However, we should not follow these same footsteps. Quite the contrary, we must do what it takes to live a more balanced life concerning the mind, body, and spirit paradigm (our holistic triangle). We are energetic beings who can project our positive and negative aspects onto others. Let's look at how this happens and what we can do to right the ship (so to speak). Remember this: an imbalance on one side of the triangle that remains uncorrected will ultimately lead to an imbalance on the other two sides, as they are all interrelated.

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The Mind

Life comes with ups and downs. It can become overwhelming and lead to various psycho-emotional conditions such as anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and anger management issues, to name a few. These conditions can lead to the projection of negativity onto the world. Other people can and do, absorb this type of energy. Can you remember when an angry co-worker entered the workplace, and the entire mood of the group immediately changed? How did you feel: ramped up, drained, exhausted? How do our attitudes affect others?

Our life contract asks us to improve the world positively. One way we can do this is to seek help. Professional counselors or peer support groups can assist us in finding ways to balance our emotions and turn negatives into positives. If we learn to quiet the mind, the soul will awaken to a more balanced existence.

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The Body

We often hear fitness gurus saying the body is a temple and we should treat it respectfully. When it comes to the physical aspect of our being, we veer off course quite frequently and lose our way. There are only 24 hours in a day, and many times regular exercise/good nutrition often takes a back seat to a job and family responsibilities. In today's society, we often reach for comfort foods, high caloric cravings (refined sugars, processed foods), alcohol, or soda pop that temporarily numb the ramped-up stress response.

Inevitably, a sedentary lifestyle can lead to weight gain and potentially a negative self-image when we look in the mirror. We can become depressed, stressed, eat more, and continue this vicious circle until the body says, "Enough!" An unbalanced mind can lead to the above scenario and eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Remember that everything relates to everything else (rule number one of an anatomy and physiology class).

So how can we turn this negative into a positive? Once again, we can turn to professional counseling or support groups that can assist us in treating the potential mental stresses which may be the underlying cause of our physical ailments. Also, consider working with a trained exercise professional, nutritionist, or dietician who can help you set and remain accountable for your goals. Sometimes, all we need is a little encouragement to push us from the nest, and away we fly. Even the slightest improvement in our self-image will lead to the positivity our life contract with ourselves. Lao Tzu once said: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Be willing to take that first step, and the world will reap some health benefits.

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The Spirit

You can agree or disagree with me on this, but the spirit drives our very existence as human beings. Think about the last time a tornado tore through a small bedroom community. The first images we see are of the extent of the destruction, as well as the emotionally overwhelmed citizens of the affected town. The cameras capture the  agony as people search for lost loved ones or family pet(s). Some of the first utterances are "I don't know what we are going to do next" or "How are we going to survive?" That, my friends, is a broken spirit: one in which you start thinking that you will never see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can recall countless stories like this one, recounted by the media on the first anniversary following the disaster. Curiously, I observe that no matter how broken the spirit was initially, and like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, these communities rebuild the foundation from the ground up. The common thread that bound them to each other was positivity. 

We may never be affected by a natural disaster. Still, a series of events (several deaths or illnesses in the family, divorce, loss of a job) in a short time can most assuredly break the spirit. To ground ourselves again, we need to nourish the spiritual side of our holistic triangle. In addition to professional counseling and support groups, there are several holistic modalities that you may wish to research and pursue to assist you in lifting your spirit from the ashes: acupuncture, reiki, massage therapy, chiropractic care, prayer, yoga, and meditation.

We all have a responsibility to ourselves (and the world), and the best way to live up to our end of the contract is to follow self-care or preventative maintenance practices to balance the mind, body, and spirit. Start from where you are and move forward, but do not compare or compete with others. Collaborate with the best team possible (of your choosing) to help you with these endeavors. Always make informed decisions by consulting your primary care provider regarding holistic protocols to ensure they do not conflict with an established treatment plan. Taking care of ourselves is the best way to make this world a better and more positive place to live.                   

Until next time -

Namaste,

Tim