We are not bound by principals, ethics or morals. We are bound by our design, capable of incredible activments in physical, intellectual, artistic, spiritual and/or sexual sphere. We can be accomplished scientists or artists, explore the mysteries of Nature or human body, be successful parents, loving neighbors and leaders of our communities.
We see many people achieve success on multiple levels but rarely do we notice people who do most things well. They are rarely acknowledged but they actually model what a healthy life looks like.
In Nature, animals and plants offer better example of what a healthy life looks like. Observing any of them shows us what it looks to “be balanced”. They connect to their surroundings, procreate with ease, find food (if the habitat is still healthy), adapt to always changing conditions and serve their purpose with incredible ease.
Humans are not separate from the natural world but we have managed to make our lives easier by using specialization and cooperation. We couldn’t stop until we brought the whole planet to the edge of destruction. Our ability to specialize amplified by cultivated desire to compete has made us disconnected from the ways we used to operate – as one with Nature.
But this doesn’t mean that a healthy life and health are not available to you. It is a matter of using common sense and wishing to develop all of your abilities harmoniously – to be balanced. Health is not something we gain and then we’re healthy. Health is a process, a journey on the road of life that allows us to exercise our body, intellect, compassion, spirituality and love.
Healthy life includes daily exercise, problem solving, interaction with our community and friends, helping someone out (called mitzva in Jewish tradition), creating and maintaining a loving intimate relationship and parenting, if you’re lucky to have a child. If you truly want to be healthy, you should consider the following:
– can I run for 10 seconds, can I climb a tree?
– how is my memory, do I sometimes give up on remembering something I thought I knew?
– how do I make this world better for people outside of my family, who do I care for?
– what is my purpose in life, what would I die for?
– do I love my partner unconditionally or only as long as they say they love me?
Ultimately, healthy life is what creates happiness, joy, bliss. And those require that we are really “alive”, that we operate on all of our 5 levels. Physically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and sexually.