To be well, one must live well.
I would even go so far as to say one must live a good life; BE good.
Today in North America, we are living a somewhat selfish, somewhat lazy, somewhat spoiled life.
The general focus is on getting ahead, with little attention paid to what is neglected or what wrongdoings are occurring in the getting there.
I believe this is affecting our general state of well-being and more specifically, our mental and physical health.
We want things easy and in abundance.
We want what the Jones' have, only perhaps just a bit bigger, and a little bit better.
We are "entitled" to this and that.
We have "the right" to say what we want.
We want as much money as we can get, for as little effort as we can expend.
We want others to make our lives better, and we might only then be willing to reciprocate.
We want things now; fast food, fast cars, fast women, quick results and instant gratification.
We have fast food restaurants lined up in rows.
We have pawn shops, porn shops and massage parlours.
We own, or can purchase, every nonsensical item one could imagine.
We don`t even have to walk to get them because we can drive here, there and everywhere in just five minutes, instead of lacing up our shoes and walking for fifteen.
If we don't have five minutes, we can go online.
We can order goods and services, porn and women, right to our living rooms with just the click of a button! We can implant this, nip that, tuck this and modify that.
We are getting what we want in spades, aren't we? We are also suffering the consequences.
Our air is polluted.
Our garbage piles are growing like cancerous tumours.
Our forests are diminishing.
Our food and water is often unrecognizable from its original intended form.
Our children are suffering from allergies and general poor health.
Society is fattening up, dumbing down, and getting ill.
But the good news is we are happy! Aren't we? Depression, anxiety and various other mental disturbances are running rampant through society today, and popping the pills we purchase to resolve this doesn't seem to be helping.
I remember a conversation I had with a Christian friend last year.
He was going through a stressful time.
He said he dreamed he had died and ended up in hell, instead of heaven.
In this nightmare he felt filled with despair, confusion, fear and rage.
The dream had a profound impact on him.
"Why would I dream something like that? And why is it bugging me so much? It was just a dream.
I don't break any laws and I'm not hurting anyone.
I'm a good man.
", he said.
After talking in circles, I found out he had been spending countless hours at work trying to get ahead and was taking steps there that were morally unacceptable to him even though they were legal and completely acceptable procedures in his line of work.
In the process, he felt he was also neglecting his wife and daughters.
After much consideration, he came to the conclusion that he had allowed himself to be sucked into the quagmire of reaching for those big bucks, at the expense no longer living within his own moral code, all the while believing he was doing it to better the life of his family, when he was actually causing them harm.
The result of course, was stress and nightmares.
Since then I've often thought about what it means to live a "good life", and how our physical and mental well-being, our relationships, and our environment are adversely affected when we don't.
When I was much younger I believed that being a decent human being was a very subjective, personal thing and as long as no-one broke any laws, no harm done.
I've grown up a little since then.
I was only considering the laws of man, without consideration of natural law.
Living within the confines of man's laws may be keeping us out of jail, but it certainly isn't keeping us physically healthy and mentally sound.
Countless philosophers believed that to achieve a state of true well-being, one must live in accordance with the laws of nature.
In other words, one must be good.
I believe if we all strive towards that, the consequences on the overall state of health in North America would greatly improve, and the negative effects of our current selfish behaviors on this planet would greatly diminish.
Without even taking that extra step to try to nurture our environment, just the simple act of caring for our minds, bodies and spirits in accordance with the laws of nature, would in fact improve the state of this planet we live on.
I could write a book on how I feel we must do this and on the harm we are causing ourselves and others.
For the sake of keeping this brief, I will just say we can make headway by doing what is right starting now.
The problem is, living as we have lived, we don't always know what is right anymore, do we? We`ve lost touch with our own sense of knowing what is right.
The answer to that is easy.
We can simply start by NOT doing what is wrong.
Hopefully then, many of our remaining choices will be the right ones.
I believe we know when we are doing wrong instinctively, if we quiet ourselves and tune in.
Our hearts start with, "I shouldn't do this" then our minds kick in with, "BUT".
But I deserve this.
But they deserve it.
But I am entitled.
But he or she did it.
But I really want to.
But I really want this.
But I`m having fun.
But it makes me happy.
But I`m too rushed or too tired to do this the better way.
Ignore everything beginning with the word "but" and listen to the first significant part, the part that tells you you should not be doing this, and then simply, do not.
If you want to feel good, live good.
When you make choices, don't just consider what you want; consider also what is right, and not just right for you, but also for your loved ones, your neighbors, and this beautiful planet you live on.
Today isn't just the first day of the rest of your life.
It could be the first day of the best of your life.
I would even go so far as to say one must live a good life; BE good.
Today in North America, we are living a somewhat selfish, somewhat lazy, somewhat spoiled life.
The general focus is on getting ahead, with little attention paid to what is neglected or what wrongdoings are occurring in the getting there.
I believe this is affecting our general state of well-being and more specifically, our mental and physical health.
We want things easy and in abundance.
We want what the Jones' have, only perhaps just a bit bigger, and a little bit better.
We are "entitled" to this and that.
We have "the right" to say what we want.
We want as much money as we can get, for as little effort as we can expend.
We want others to make our lives better, and we might only then be willing to reciprocate.
We want things now; fast food, fast cars, fast women, quick results and instant gratification.
We have fast food restaurants lined up in rows.
We have pawn shops, porn shops and massage parlours.
We own, or can purchase, every nonsensical item one could imagine.
We don`t even have to walk to get them because we can drive here, there and everywhere in just five minutes, instead of lacing up our shoes and walking for fifteen.
If we don't have five minutes, we can go online.
We can order goods and services, porn and women, right to our living rooms with just the click of a button! We can implant this, nip that, tuck this and modify that.
We are getting what we want in spades, aren't we? We are also suffering the consequences.
Our air is polluted.
Our garbage piles are growing like cancerous tumours.
Our forests are diminishing.
Our food and water is often unrecognizable from its original intended form.
Our children are suffering from allergies and general poor health.
Society is fattening up, dumbing down, and getting ill.
But the good news is we are happy! Aren't we? Depression, anxiety and various other mental disturbances are running rampant through society today, and popping the pills we purchase to resolve this doesn't seem to be helping.
I remember a conversation I had with a Christian friend last year.
He was going through a stressful time.
He said he dreamed he had died and ended up in hell, instead of heaven.
In this nightmare he felt filled with despair, confusion, fear and rage.
The dream had a profound impact on him.
"Why would I dream something like that? And why is it bugging me so much? It was just a dream.
I don't break any laws and I'm not hurting anyone.
I'm a good man.
", he said.
After talking in circles, I found out he had been spending countless hours at work trying to get ahead and was taking steps there that were morally unacceptable to him even though they were legal and completely acceptable procedures in his line of work.
In the process, he felt he was also neglecting his wife and daughters.
After much consideration, he came to the conclusion that he had allowed himself to be sucked into the quagmire of reaching for those big bucks, at the expense no longer living within his own moral code, all the while believing he was doing it to better the life of his family, when he was actually causing them harm.
The result of course, was stress and nightmares.
Since then I've often thought about what it means to live a "good life", and how our physical and mental well-being, our relationships, and our environment are adversely affected when we don't.
When I was much younger I believed that being a decent human being was a very subjective, personal thing and as long as no-one broke any laws, no harm done.
I've grown up a little since then.
I was only considering the laws of man, without consideration of natural law.
Living within the confines of man's laws may be keeping us out of jail, but it certainly isn't keeping us physically healthy and mentally sound.
Countless philosophers believed that to achieve a state of true well-being, one must live in accordance with the laws of nature.
In other words, one must be good.
I believe if we all strive towards that, the consequences on the overall state of health in North America would greatly improve, and the negative effects of our current selfish behaviors on this planet would greatly diminish.
Without even taking that extra step to try to nurture our environment, just the simple act of caring for our minds, bodies and spirits in accordance with the laws of nature, would in fact improve the state of this planet we live on.
I could write a book on how I feel we must do this and on the harm we are causing ourselves and others.
For the sake of keeping this brief, I will just say we can make headway by doing what is right starting now.
The problem is, living as we have lived, we don't always know what is right anymore, do we? We`ve lost touch with our own sense of knowing what is right.
The answer to that is easy.
We can simply start by NOT doing what is wrong.
Hopefully then, many of our remaining choices will be the right ones.
I believe we know when we are doing wrong instinctively, if we quiet ourselves and tune in.
Our hearts start with, "I shouldn't do this" then our minds kick in with, "BUT".
But I deserve this.
But they deserve it.
But I am entitled.
But he or she did it.
But I really want to.
But I really want this.
But I`m having fun.
But it makes me happy.
But I`m too rushed or too tired to do this the better way.
Ignore everything beginning with the word "but" and listen to the first significant part, the part that tells you you should not be doing this, and then simply, do not.
If you want to feel good, live good.
When you make choices, don't just consider what you want; consider also what is right, and not just right for you, but also for your loved ones, your neighbors, and this beautiful planet you live on.
Today isn't just the first day of the rest of your life.
It could be the first day of the best of your life.