“True Versus Commodified Wellness.”

~ Lorna Bevan

We live in a culture where exponential growth is admired and sought after. A capitalistic economy depends on it.

“Growth is what capitalism needs, knows, and does.” Giorgos Kallis

This idea interests me because I’m reading Pema Chodron’s book “How We Live Is How We Die.” Her book discusses having compassion for ourselves in the ever-constant flow of endings and beginnings.

The juxtaposition of these two ideas, capitalism and its reliance on exponential growth, and Pema’s teachings on the constant flow of endings and beginnings is cause for a Pause.

I am particularly interested in our physical, emotional, and spiritual health as I’ve devoted half my life to understanding people, their bodies, minds, spirits, and tendencies.

It occurs to me that people are unwell because we live in a culture where the underlying message is exponential growth:

Be more. Do more. Have more.

However, exponential growth is not seen in the natural world.

For example, the seasons have a natural state of endings and beginnings. The beginning of a year in the Northern Hemisphere is Spring. Animals come out of hibernation, and we see green buds on the trees and blades of grass pop through the ground. The seasons progress through the peak of summer and then toward the natural state of decline as we head toward Fall and Winter.

A woman will similarly experience her menstrual cycle. The blood and tissue of the uterus build through her cycle and then shed at the end, only to be made again once the shed completes.

On the other hand, cancer cells are an example of exponential growth. Cancer relies on the ability to keep growing. If it does, it will take over the body of a person or an animal to its eventual death.

There is an epidemic of anxiety, depression, obesity, and overall unease. I believe this is because we live in opposition to our natural state as people.

A capitalistic economy encourages spending, staying young, accumulating more things, and eating more food. Wheat, sugar, and corn are particularly interesting to capitalism because they are cheap to grow and sold for huge profits.

This message is heard and felt as the truth and the solution to our problems. It is not the solution. Seeking exponential growth sets us up for dis-ease.

What Can We Do?

Once we understand the cyclical nature of the natural world, we can begin to see the importance and necessity of the decline part of a cycle. Through healing, we can learn to have compassion for ourselves and to be with our emotions during this time, whether it be aging, illness, or when something falls apart, be it a business, a relationship, or our body.

It may sound simple, but it takes time to unravel our tendency to be hard on ourselves and to push through extreme conditions, given that the message of exponential growth is loud.

It’s good for us to ask, "What is True Versus Commodified Wellness?”

To me, this quote from Pema Chodron speaks of True Wellness.

“When we start to develop unconditional acceptance for ourselves, then we are really taking care of ourselves in a way that pays off. We feel more at home with our bodies and minds and more at home in the world. As kindness for ourselves grows, so does kindness for other people.”

Our wellness will sustain and increase the more we live in trust and compassion, ride the waves of continual change, and be present for ourselves and those around us.

Continual change is the natural state of things.

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