|
by Jayaram V
You can regard good health as a gift from God or
as a gift that you can
give to yourself. You can be wealthy as well
as healthy or just healthy. Whatever may be your situation, being healthy is
far more
important than being just wealthy. If you have to choose between the two,
you know what would be the right answer. Wealthy people have
better access
to resources to manage their health. But that alone would not ensure
good health. We also know that
a healthy person who is poor financially is much happier than a wealthy
person who is in poor health.
With the advances in science and technology, the world has become a much more complicated place
to live. True, we have
learned to cope with many newer and more challenging problems during
this time. We have a very advanced health
care system that can answer many of our health related problems. Our
average life span has almost doubled in the
last few decades. We
have conquered many diseases and developed cures for many deadly and previously incurable diseases. Yet deep down in our hearts we know that
our lives have become fragile and insecure. With problems like pollution and over
exploitation of resources, our the world has
become a far more riskier place to live.
Stress is one of the most common problems we have
today. Environmental pollution is another major challenge.
Increasing use of synthetic substances in our food, drug, beauty and
cosmetic industries raises many questions and concerns. Then we have the
problem
of over population. Living in overly crowded and competitive environments to
get ourselves educated, work and live is by no means an easy task. All these put tremendous pressure on our mental
and physical well being and make us vulnerable to many health
hazards of modern life.
These problems make one point very clear. We need
healthier bodies and minds to cope with the problems of the modern
world. We need to pay greater attention to
the issues concerning our health, which we means we have to take
care of our selves as well as the environment in which we
live.
We can accomplish this in two
ways. The environmental issues need a collective effort. Problems such as
water pollution, animal welfare, or environmental degradation or drinking water
problem, can be managed better in association
with like minded people. You can address these problems and do your
bit by becoming a volunteer or joining some focus group or writing a
book or article or fighting your own battles against the offenders
of people's welfare. As an
active member of your community, you can raise the awareness and
influence the decision makers.
The second approach is taking care of your
personal health. This is well within your individual capacity and
limit. Here what you need is commitment and
sincerity from yourself and little dependency upon others. Other may
play a role in motivating you, but not imperatively. This is a do it
yourself area and much depends upon how you keep your motivation
strong.
After all it is your health and who else should
be interested in it? Good health requires consistent pursuit
of time tested principles such as the following. They are applicable
to all age groups and income groups irrespective of where you live
and what you do.
- Regular Exercise
- Positive mental attitude
- Moderation in habits
- Balanced Diet
- Cleanliness
- Adequate rest and relaxation
- Regular and periodical medical check ups
- Having a qualified personal physician or family doctor.
- Helping others
- Building dependable and meaningful relationships.
Also pay attention to the following five golden principles of
health
- Accept the changes that come with age and mould your life
and activities accordingly.
- Whether it is eating, drinking, doing exercise, having sex,
driving a car or some other pursuit, accept the limitations of
your body.
- Do not take your health for granted. Do not act and behave as
if you are going to be young and live forever. Do what is necessary to
protect it and maintain it even if you are a very busy person
and have many things to do.
- Avoid now what may become a problem later when your body grows
old.
- Be a health conscious person at all times so that what you do
to remain
healthy becomes internalized and does not end up as a chore.
|
