By Donald
B. Ardell – September 13, 2009
INTRODUCTION
What is
perspective? Perspective quite
simply means the choice of a reference from which to sense, categorize, measure
or codify experience. A
science-based perspective about our individual, social, planetary and yes, even
galactic place in the vast universe seems to me a very good thing, something
not possible throughout most of human existence but readily available today,
providing the view is not obstructed by superstition or simple ignorance. Think of perspective as a sensible,
realistic but still cheerful awareness of the true nature of the natural world,
as best we can comprehend it at this time in history. Cosmic awareness and wonder seem good start points for REAL
wellness.
Which
leads me to ask a slightly rhetorical question: "What is REAL wellness and
why should anyone bother with it?
Oftentimes,
people ask me, Don, why waste your time writing about wellness? Many leaders in the health and business
sectors as well as consumers interested in living wisely and well are skeptical
about the appeal of the wellness concept and the wellness movement. This is the case even when the term is
used in a sensible fashion, for instance, as an active process through which
people become aware of, and make choices towards, a more successful existence.
The
closest thing to an official definition of the term wellness, besides the above
phrase attributed to the pioneering author/physician Halbert L. Dunn, is
this: "A conscious,
self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential in a
multi-dimensional, positive and affirming manner that encompasses lifestyle and
mental well-being, as well as a
concern for the environment."
Wow -
that's a mouthful and a bit much for many regular, down-to-earth folks to
digest. This expansive definition,
which I paraphrased and edited (excising the vague words holistic and
spiritual), can be found at the website of the National Wellness Institute
(NWI).
Anyway, as
I mentioned a moment ago, I'm sometimes asked, "Don, why waste your time
writing about wellness?"
My answer
is that I do NOT waste time writing about wellness. I have given up on wellness. It is beyond repair. It's boring, medical in nature and
focused on issues that others already address quite well enough (e.g., exercise
and eating wisely).
Instead, I
promote REAL wellness. This is not
an inefficient use of time. While
even fewer know what REAL wellness is, nobody who discovers the concept finds
it boring. Furthermore, REAL wellness does not lend itself to exploitation by
product promoters, spa foo-foo entrepreneurs, medical quacks or corporate
worksite risk reduction managers. Few merchants want to explain REAL wellness elements, such as meaning
and purpose, critical thinking, applied ethics or anything else not easily
marketed in cookie cutter fashion, like risk appraisals, medical testing,
fitness assessments and the like.
REAL
wellness is about mindsets and lifestyles that reflect a reasoned existence of
exuberant life quality founded on personal freedom and social liberty.
Who would
not be interested in that? Compared with the blah blah generalities of the wellness definition
summarized above, my REAL wellness definition seems rather straightforward,
specific and consequential.
In other
words, the quality of life focus of REAL wellness is different (though
complementary) from the orientation of extant plain vanilla wellness. The major difference, however, is that
REAL wellness goes to the heart of issues not addressed in worksite wellness
programming. Why is that? Why do companies and other sponsors of
wellness efforts avoid teaching critical thinking skills, stimulating meaning
and purpose assessments, exploring ethical values and promoting dialogues about
pathways to exuberant living, personal freedoms and stewardship of the
environment?
I believe
these REAL wellness matters are avoided because they are more difficult to
manage. Most people are unfamiliar
with the topics. Most are not
accustomed to discussing value-laden issues in an open, objective and
stress-free fashion. In short, the
REAL wellness areas, as opposed to the standard fodder of worksite wellness,
are rich in potentials for controversy - and companies do not want to rock
proverbial boats.
Maybe
doing so, especially if it leads to improved understanding and better choices,
is worth the risk of a little controversy.
One topic
in particular might prove very controversial, but it's a topic that needs
evaluation as much as any I can imagine. It's the subject that Christopher Hitchens claims poisons
everything. I refer, of course, to
religion.
Fitness,
nutrition, stress management and risk reduction -- all widely recognized as key
elements of good health, good life and good citizenship and none of it is
controversial. Religion - this is the playing field for war, terrorism and all
forms of mayhem associated with intolerance and tribalism. For a sample, enjoy this segment of a
recent Penn & Teller show. My kind of a REAL wellness lecture would be to
show this, and follow it with small group discussions of the Catholic Church's
involvement in the modern world. Focus on topics of great consequence such as the Church positions like
anti-homosexuality, demonizing condom use, discouraging church/state
separation, opposition to science (e.g., stem cell research) and priest abuse
sex scandal - and the official cover up of such scandals. Maybe add to the
discussion the role of Pope Benedict the XVI. Discuss views on whether this Pope and the Vatican do more
good than harm in the world and why.
Now, that
is my kind of a REAL wellness agenda. Offer this as a lunch and learn topic and you will get great attendance,
media play and an animated conversation about reason, critical thinking,
freedom, liberty, science versus revelation and all manner of things people
care about.
REAL
wellness enthusiasts, such as yours truly, foresee a time when wellness
promotion explicitly supports secular values, interpretations and institutions.
A time when science is embraced as
the preferred path to reason, freedom of inquiry and morality. My own REAL wellness advocacy, as some
might have noticed, includes non-stop efforts to inject such secular ethical
values of a humanist nature into (REAL) wellness promotion.
A powerful
cultural norm in America, and just about everywhere else on earth, is to avoid
the topic of religion, to leave it alone, unchallenged (along with sex and
politics), protected - and not just at polite dinner gatherings. This seems unhealthy and hazardous to
liberty, especially in America where Republican politicians and religious
interest groups seem inclined to a lot more theocracy and a good bit less
secularism.
Unfortunately,
religion is usually hostile to reason, science, liberty and other elements of
REAL wellness. In many ways,
creationists are still fighting the teaching of evolution in favor of a 10,000
year universe. Thanks to religion,
40 percent of this nation's people population believe in a young earth wherein
humans and dinosaurs had to deal with each other. In their view, science is not to be trusted. The Catholic Church and nearly all
devout protestants, not just the fundy fringe, prefer revealed dogma over
evidence to explain the natural world. They claim that without religious myths,
a sense of wonder is impossible.
A REAL
wellness seminar could easily show that an appreciation for science enhances
the experience of the natural world more convincingly than religion ever could.
Consider a universe 78 billion light years across spanning 100 billion galaxies
- and compare that with God did it. Science is Shakespeare, Housman, Yeats and Whitman; superstition is Look
Jane, see it go, see it go up.
Let's
welcome controversy - and protect the precious right we enjoy to speak freely,
despite the risks and added challenges associated with controversy. Religion is too important to remain
largely off limits; blasphemy exists only in the ears of the offended. Blasphemy is a victimless expression
and should never be prosecuted (as it is in all Islamic countries and would be
here if the Religious Right could have their way about it). We must no longer be shy (or
intimidated) about expanded the wellness concept to include foundation elements
for human betterment. A good life,
here and now - shaped by reason, exuberance and liberty, is a worthy goal. It might be the next level for the
promotion of healthy and fulfilling choices that most enhance the quality of
this life, the only one know anything about.
Don Ardell is the Well Infidel. He favors evidence over faith, reason over revelation and
meaning and purpose over spirituality. His enthusiasm for reason, exuberance and liberty are reflected in his
books (14), newsletter (502 editions of a weekly report) and lectures across
North America and a dozen other countries. 