All “Me”s Matter
This is paraphrasing a quote I dislike seeing. I am sure each of you, if you have been watching the news, heard the saying “Black Lives Matter”. A minority group disagrees with that and says “All Lives Matter”.
They do not understand the concept that if everything is equal and all are being treated equally usually and healthy, that the saying would be appropriate. But since that isn’t true it isn’t appropriate. To say that all health is equal is only good when each is at the same or at least a good and healthy level.
There is a famous Olympic swimmer from the United States. He is a prime example of a physically healthy person. He has won more gold medals and more medals than anyone in history. Only towards the end of his career he and others found out that he had suffered from depression most of his life. He poured all of his focus into swimming and in the pool there was no “problem”. Outside of the pool he tried self-medicating. After (or towards) the end of his Olympic swimming career, he sought counselling. He now does public service announcements for mental health.
In the perfect person, All “Me”s Matter. I am sure that it is no coincidence Eastern Philosophy exercises like Yoga and Tia Chi focus on body, mind, and spirit. They understand that working on just one will not create a healthy individual. If I break my leg, or catch a cold I need to focus on repairing my physical health. That will be a priority it gets better. It does not mean I will ignore my mind or my spirit.
If I suffer from depression, I might incorporate exercise into my treatment but, my primary goal is to improve my mental health. We all know people who are fit, eat right, smart, witty, mentally balanced. But you also know there is something not right. They might be very open about talking about many things, but when it comes to what is rally bothering them they often go quiet. This person could have been any one of us at points in our lives. We were physically healthy, we were mentally strong and healthy, but our emotional health was broken. Our Spirit damaged. All of us have been there or we would not be here. We would not be reading, learning, growing, and healing. We would not be searching for answers; probably long before we found this community.
The problem with our spirit is that it can’t be measured in the same ways physical or mental health can. I can get a check-up and I do get lab work done periodically. I can get a measure on my physical health. I can see and speak with mental health experts to improve my mental health. I can learn tools to help me with my mental health. However, in many ways, as we have talked about, the path to spiritual heath is different for almost everybody. All of us are learning our path. Each of us is at a different point of our journey. One of the things we all know is that, here, it is not a competition and helping others along their path gets you further along on your path. More so than with other growth and healing, offering a hand and giving direction can benefit both of you.
My Trifecta:
I work out daily by walking and swimming. I try to eat healthy, but take some liberties with that. I do mental puzzles daily to keep my mind sharp. I read, my walks and swims give me opportunities to meditate and quiet my mind. I look for things to be grateful for. Getting hellos from people, a smile, or laughter from a joke. I try to leave people I interact with better than how I found them. I open “Know Thyself” daily to see new posts, reactions, check in on how others are doing. I do an inventory. When something is out of balance I focus on “My Physical Health Matters”, “My Mental Health Matters”, or “My Spiritual Health Matters”. If I do these things, I do not have to worry, my Soul is perfect. My Soul is always perfect, it has always been it always will be.
It is the only part of me that came in pure and when it is done with me will leave me just as pure.