The pursuit of 'elusive' wellness

All is not well. We, as a society, are in a state of poor health. Diseases, unhappiness and stress are the order of the day. Instances of obesity, feeble achy bones, ballooned bellies and chronically depressed minds are commonplace. More than ever, people are lazy, broke and ignorant.

No matter how fervently you chant that much revered dialogue 'All is well' from a famous Bollywood hit, you come to accept sooner than later that a complete human wellness at individual and society level eludes us. Well, Most of us!  Including the richest and most privileged. 

Seems like quite a negative note to start with. Well...It's imminent to be put like this, unfortunately, for the intensity to be known. Let's face it head-on to understand it better.

"Wellness per se characterises our ability to fully achieve and experience all pleasant, beneficial things life has on offer and keep all detrimental and negative things at bay".

 The pursuit of wellness is something very primal to our existence and everybody is so at it. It begins at birth, when we realise that amniotic fluid is no longer available and we will have to find food to eat. Most of the times, most of our actions are (theoretically) intended to achieve wellness.

Eating nutritious food, exercising, resting, sleeping, working, earning, socialising and are all part of remaining well off. Why then, it is so difficult to achieve. Food for thought.

The evolutionary ballgame

Over last thousands of years entailing breakthrough discoveries, mankind's interaction with nature has changed dramatically and has led to radical changes in diet, activity levels.

We no longer hunt. Access to food and transport is far more reliable and a staggering amount of automation has made us void of any left-out physical activity.

Resultantly, strength and vitality are in a downward spiral. The body composition has drifted from 'muscular and tough' to 'fatty and tender'.

But all this is part of the evolutionary process and there is hardly anything we can do about it. Nature will take its own course in keeping us alive and kicking. 

Does moon landing guarantee happiness?

More than ever, we humans have become obsessed about the economic activity. Things now revolve around profit, GDP and asset creation. Passion, hard work, inventions, projects and programs are the things we live by and we have touched the surface of the moon and the mars. Nothing bad at all!

What’s dangerous is the marginalisation of the actual essence of living as a result. Health has taken a back seat in our conscience and slid further down our priority lists.

To do what we can

Notwithstanding the game of evolution and economics, on which we have little control, there is a general lack of health literacy, the capacity to obtain and understand information needed to make appropriate health decisions.

Our doctors are trained in pathogenesis (treating illness) only. They offer little to no help in achieving holistic wellness at society level and we are left clueless.

And in the wake of our cluelessness, there is too much left to guess. And to fill the void, doctors, trainers, yogis, gurus, nutritionists and who not in the world have queued up to claim the secret elixir of wellness, in turn trying to push us towards buying products and services of multi-billion dollar vested interests. 

Just a small example. There seems to be an ever-lasting confusion about the workable ratio of macro and micro nutrients with fad diets asking you to eat different uncanny portions of meat, dairy, greens and nuts. Paleo, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, fat-free! And everyone claims to make you healthy. Whom to believe?

Fed up of the incessant cycle of random advice and information, we tend to believe the layman's words coming from the trusted friend or the random neighbour only to hear a completely opposite advice after some days from someone equally trustworthy.

The result! Bingo... As good as it gets, we are gullible enough to fall prey to the seemingly great health advice and products. Still, we never come out of the vicious cycle of poor health.

Go get your arsenal!

Knowledge is power. Getting a little conditioning by reading, community talks and searching internet for unbiased, independent information and research will go a long way to arm you with the required wisdom. 

I know such learning might not be something of interest for people who love to spend their time pursuing other passions. But my belief is, all wealth, luxury and physical possessions that you achieve in life, are inconsequential if not supported by optimum health. So, you don't have an option here and must take time out for your physical and mental self in order to lead a happy life. You are missing out on something big by not learning about how your own self functions.

Imagine yourself as a car you drive all the time. Now go for a long drive without knowing basic things like how to change your Stepney or to check engine lubricant level. You are headed for disaster. The greater your knowledge about the functionality of the car, the greater the efficiency, speed and comfort you will be able to derive from it.

So, when next time you watch that ad where a refined cooking oil is claimed to make your heart stronger or when a single capsule is claimed to have everything meant to revitalise your life, your senses tickle and you raise the alarm to rescue yourself. Just a stepping stone in starting to make all lifestyle decisions better and informed. Keep at it.