The Key to Wellness

written by:
Shannon Seymour. MA. Programme Co-ordinator & Therapist

In this era of wonderful technological advances, we have not advanced the human spirit. We have a world community which is closer together than at any point in history, but we have neighbours who barely know each other’s names. We need simple wellness.

Simple wellness is perhaps too naïve or too elementary for the advances of the modern generation, a foreign concept often looked down upon as wasteful or unnecessary. Nothing in fact is further from the truth, we need wellness today more than ever before. But it is not a band wagon to jump on or a quick fix in times of trouble. Rather, wellness is a way of living each day - joyful and healthy days along with those that bring despair and illness.

Wellness is a way of life that every individual has the right to, not just for those who have money and time to pursue it, but rather it is an active state of living, which is free to all. Wellness is found not at the end of a journey, but in the way you choose to proceed. It is not an outcome but found in the pursuit of living whole and balanced lives.

Wellness is like a kitchen table - the centre of activity. It is the place were we eat, we talk, we argue, we do homework, we make crafts, we bake cookies, we pay bills, we cry, we visit, we sit quietly, we laugh loudly and we pray. The kitchen table is the core of our home and has to be strong. If the kitchen table has one weak leg, the whole table is unbalanced. If it looses a leg, the whole thing tumbles.

Wellness is the core of our being, and the areas of wellness in our lives are like the legs of our kitchen table. If we want a strong and balanced life of wellness, we have to keep each leg nurtured and stable.

Wellness ‘legs’ are found in various areas of our lives; family, spirit, community, career, physical health, emotional health, self. When we take care of the needs in each of these areas we are living a life of wellness. If neglected and unattended, we can become unbalanced and these areas can make us weak and cause us to tumble.

We get well by recognising the importance of all these areas. How many of us take really good care of our families, but not such great care of ourselves? How many of us take really good care of our professional and career needs, but neglect our spirit? Balance is the key to wellness. Balancing our needs and taking care of all areas of our life will result in wellness and create a strong core. Wellness does not however protect us from pain. Living a life of wellness does not mean that everything runs smooth, works out in the end, or is happily ever after.

Life is full of ups and downs. Wellness simply gives us the strength and the tools to handle what comes our way, with balance, acceptance and hopefulness.


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