We often think of health in terms of fitness, in terms of ideal weight, diet and exercise. While these are essential parts of what can make up a healthy lifestyle, I don't see health as being limited to the body. Neither is it a cutout ideal to judge ourselves against. Often times we think of health as measuring up to ideals of beauty, or ideals in general of how we should be, how our bodies should be. And often times, seeking only physical health can be a way to avoid other areas of our lives that we don't know how to deal with.
To look at health in a whole way, we have to look at the context of a person's life, or the context of our own life. Health applies to every aspect of our lives.
Are our bodies healthy? is one question of many. Are our relationships healthy? Is our work environment healthy? Is the work that we do satisfying to us? Are we honest with ourselves? Are we around people who care about us, who are honest and kind? Do we have a healthy spirituality? Or do we have no spirituality and feel fine with that? Is our home environment healthy?
I don't think these questions should be used to judge ourselves, or to hold up an image about what we think we should be and feel bad about where we are, but rather to ask ourselves "How do I feel about this?"
"How do I feel?" I think is a fantastic question to finding out about our own health. The answers are rarely simple, but can be a lot of fun to find out.
How does my body feel? How do I feel when I work? How do I feel about my relationships? How do I feel about the place I am in? Do I feel good in my body?
The answer will come through the body but will inform us about everything else in our lives.
Health can be a goal and yet there is also the healthiest thing to do in this moment within the context of what is actually going on in our lives.
I think the best way to judge overall health, is to ask ourselves, "How do I feel?"
I have a friend who is a smoker. She would like to be a nonsmoker and since I've known her, she has attempted to quit smoking several times. The first time she tried, she and her husband were in the process of moving into a new house. She bundled up all her packs of tobacco, her filters, lighters and threw them in the trash.
It didn't go so well.
The withdrawal of quitting, and all of the emotions that had been numbed through smoking came up at once, along with the normal stress of moving (which is listed as one of the most stressful events to occur in life). After about four days, I, who assisted in the moving, her husband, and her housemate, were all relieved when she retrieved the bundle from the trash which thankfully was wrapped securely in plastic, and decided that quitting smoking would have to wait until another time.
While overall, quitting would probably be better for her health, she had to consider what was healthier in the moment, rather than forcing herself to deal with too much at once. She decided to find a time when she would have a surrounding that would be more supportive to dealing with the withdrawal and the emotions that would come up from quitting smoking.
What is health if we have a terminal illness? What is health if we have permanently lost the functioning of a limb? What is healthy for us now if we are recovering from addiction and substance abuse?
Health is not a one-size-fits-all ideal to strive for. It can't be because it is something that applies to real people and real people's lives. And health is certainly not beating yourself up for not measuring up to where you think you should be.
So what is healthiest to do right now?
To go for a run? To sleep in? To call a friend? To stop what you're doing and take a few deep breathes and just feel what it feels like to be in your body? To drink beer all night and go dancing? Maybe. Sometimes that can be healthy.
Health is what creates balance within the given context of your life.
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