Take Time Out To Enjoy Life’s Pleasure – It’ll Help You Cope

You probably had days  when we wake up with low level of energy, feeling depressed or even exhausted, as if we are sick.  And yet physically, there is nothing wrong with you.  There are also times when you are really sick, but somehow you feel the contentment that comes with good health.

Feeling good is more than not being sick or in ill health.  For many of us, having physical health and well-being is the highest priority in our lives.  There is an old French saying that  “Health is not everything, but without health nothing is anything”.  These wise words are a great way of describing this realisation. But why is it that now and then, we may be physically healthy but yet, we don’t feel good?  The answer is that feeling well means more than not being sick.   The fact is that humans need to attain a state of mental balance if they are to feel physically well.  This is not a new discovery but unfortunately we seemed to have forgotten about this simple fact.

In the Middle Ages, the human body, mind and spirit were regarded as one inseparable whole entity.  In modern times, doctors came to consider the health of a person with the treatment or alleviation of the physical symptoms.  As a result , illnesses were considered as a disruption in the proper functions of the organs of the human body.  Once doctors began to regard human beings as simply the bearers of their illness, physical and functional symptoms were automatically separated from personality as a whole and were treated as such.    As a result, the sick  person became reduced to an entity without a mind and spirit.  The physician then focus on the diseased organ rather than the person.  If nothing wrong is found, a patient may even be labeled as someone suffering from an imaginary illness.

In recent years, doctors have realised that external factors  play a crucial role in most ailments.  For example, we know that smoking can lead to lung cancer, alcoholism can lead to liver failure and a diet high in fats can lead to high blood pressure or heart attack.  Even pollution of our environment can contribute to ill health.  We then have to control or eliminate external factors if they cause ill health.  For example, it is advisable not to smoke, to eat a healthy diet, to avoid harmful chemicals and to engage in as much physical activity like sports as possible.

In recent times, health care professionals have come to  respect the ancient body of knowledge regarding a holistic approach towards health.   We have come to realise that psychological factors and social influences have considerable effects on our health.  The human mind plays an important role in many ailments.  For instance, it is quite obvious that heart attacks tend to affect people in stressful jobs and that people of nervous dispositions are more frequently affected by allergies.  Recent research also shows that stress, grief and tension can play their part in weakening the body’s resistance to illness.  In contrast, people who have a peaceful and relaxed attitude in life often have a strong immune system.

Recent studies have also shown that people who challenge their minds on a daily basis will also stave off dementia.  People who have engaged in  memory training as students, to accelerate their learning and study skills when they were students have a more balanced life as adults.  Their memory training not only improved their memory but also helped them cope with the stress of information overload in working life.  Beyond that, these lifelong memory skills can help keep their minds sharp even in old age. 

An awareness of the interaction of body, mind and spirit should not just be limited to the experts. People who understand the unity tend to be more careful in their dealings with themselves and with others.  Such a person will treat worries and cares seriously, but he will also experience joy and happiness more intensely and will approach life in a calmer and  more optimistic way.

Many people enjoy only a small portion of their lives.  Most of the time they find themselves moving along the tidal flow of daily living.  This realisation was first described by the Roman poet and philosopher Senecca (around 4BC – AD 65).  His insights should make us think.  Ask yourself when was the last time you experienced a day that you thoroughly enjoyed yourself.  When was the last time you paid no heed to time pressures and deadlines and followed your own wishes and desires?  These can be difficult questions for someone who is caught up in the rat race of life.  And yet isn’t there always time, if only to indulge for a few minutes, to allow yourself the luxury of pure delight.