Health is the Greatest Wealth, Part 2

In yesterday’s article, Health is the Greatest Wealth, Part 1, I discussed that health is a commodity that, while much in demand, is hard to grasp. Everyone wants to be healthier, but the way most people go about it, is hard to attain.

I said that here in the U.S., there is not a healthcare system; instead it is a sickcare system. The goal is not to help people become healthier and develop a state of wellness; it is about managing illness – and even at that, the U.S. sickcare system does not do a good job.

Unfortunately, there is big money to be made in sickcare, what with the endless tests, procedures, drugs and surgeries that can be done. And there is not a lot of money to be made in helping people to become healthy, because when that happens then there is less or no need for doctors, hospitals and drugs.

Now I know the last thing you want to see is any segment of our already battered economy hurt by a lack of discretionary spending, but let’s face it, excessive spending on the sickcare system, which is the case at this point in time, is not going to be the way to any type of economic recovery.

Just as  green, environmentally sound, based technologies, energy policy and lifestyles are the wave of the future and the blueprint for an economic renaissance, so is a holistic-oriented health care system in which people are empowered to know how to seek and attain better health.

Now, achieving better health may require you to see a health provider, but this health provider does not have to be a physician. They may be an acupuncturist, naturopath, homeopath, herbalist, chiropractor, body worker, energy worker, therapist, or a practitioner of some other treatment modality. Or you may see a few practitioners, including a physician, to meet your needs.

Whoever you see, it’s best if you envisioned them as part of a team, and that you, as the person who knows you the best, as the director of the team.

Often, the body seems to work in mysterious ways that seem confounding for someone not trained in medicine and health. But the body is not that complicated; you can train yourself to think in the same way that outstanding health providers think and learn to figure out what is going on when you are not feeling well.

The good health providers think like detectives and try to decipher what is going on in the body by trying to understand what it is that the body is attempting to communicate. The detective work will investigate diet and lifestyle and see if these factors are playing a primary role in causing illness.

By carefully going over the diet and by looking at the various aspects of someone’s life—their work, relationships, stresses, attitude, passions and other things—the answer is usually found.

If you are willing to take the time to honestly look at your life and assess it, you can figure it out on your own, although often times an objective person is required to help you to understand your life and get you standing back on your own two feet.

If you are willing to go this route, you will become healthier and be immersed in a Low Density Lifestyle. Once you are in this mode, your health approach will change to one oriented towards wellness and prevention, and when you see a health provider, that person will most probably be a practitioner of holistic medicine, and your visits will be wellness oriented.

For instance, in ancient China, people traditionally saw an acupuncturist once every season, for their seasonal “tune-up.” This helped keep them healthy through the season. Ironically in our society, we take our car in for a seasonal tune-up so that the car can run well for the duration of the season, while neglecting to do anything proactive for ourselves.

If you take care of your health by taking a proactive stance, it will pay itself off in huge dividends. You will feel physically and mentally better, and be capable of living more in the flow.

An Arabic proverb says it well: He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything.