SOCIAL WELLNESS

By Terry Orr

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” ~World Health Organization, 1948

“Wellness is the conscious and deliberate process by which people are actively involved in enhancing their well-being: intellectual, physical, social, emotional, occupational and spiritual” ~ Hatfield

Social Wellness (family, community and environment) – focuses on how you choose to define and connect with your community and the people around you. 

Physical –your body's health, which involves nutrition, exercise, promoting over-all safety and wellness, and preventing physical illness.

Spiritual (values and ethics) – to understanding your place and purpose, how you make meaning of what happens to you, and what your mind goes to for comfort and relief.

Intellectual – means feeling stimulated and engaged with learning and staying open to new ideas and perspectives.

Emotional – involves being aware of and managing your feelings, being at peace with who you are, and having the tools you need to weather life’s ups and downs.

Occupational – is the work you choose to do and how you feel it contributes to your community and fulfills you.

According to Work Smart. Life Smart –

July is Social Wellness Month and it reminds us that we need to reach out to others and build stronger social ties with family and friends. Social Wellness encourages us to develop better communications with those around us including the ability to share our feelings and needs. It involves respecting yourself and others and developing a solid social support system.

Social Wellness takes planning and effort to carve out time for those activities, as they may not happen naturally in today’s hectic world. We know from our research that socially isolated people are more susceptible to illness and have a death rate two to three times higher than those who are not socially isolated.  However people who maintain their social network and support systems do better under stress and are physically and mentally healthier.  They even achieve higher grade point averages.

So how important in Social Wellness in our daily life – one indication is the explosion of social media over the past decade.  According to eBizMBA the three top Social Media Sites (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) average about 1.1 Billion visits each month – that is nearly one in seven people globally.  Folks reaching out to others – finding common ground – communicating – sharing – building relationships – a virtual family/home.

What we are all looking for – is balance in our lives – while sounding fairly straight forward – with our daily lives, most folks deal with the ever increasing demands on their time – and finding true balance is all to often is simply not possible.  The challenge is to prioritizes things best we can – and review what really and truly are the important things in our lives.

References and Links:

http://worksmartlivesmart.com/social-wellness-month-july/

http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites 

(Photos from Google)

Spiritual Literacy Month

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By Diane Forrest

With the start of the holiday season, many people turn to the Bible and read about the Christmas Story, and why we celebrate this time.  There are other people who to other forms of Spiritual messages.  Some would argue that spirituality makes a person more sensitive to love, justice, peace and more of the intangible things that cannot be directly perceived by a person's senses. It supports the idea that the human being and the rest of creation are composed not only of matter but of something that is immaterial and beyond our knowledge. Other definitions of spirituality explain it as a power, greater than oneself, that is operating in the universe; a sense of inter-connectedness with all living creatures; and an awareness of the purpose and meaning of life and the development of personal, absolute values. It is impossible to point out the "right" definition as each individual perceives the word spirituality in his or her own way.

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Spirituality provides a way for people to escape from the negativity, frustration, anger and stress in their lives. Practices such as prayer, meditation and yoga allow a person to reach the balance between his or her thoughts and actions.  Spirituality is different from Religion.  Despite the fact that it varies from person to person, spirituality has a number of common themes. A person living spiritual life seeks to reach beyond his or her limits. This goal may include questioning beliefs, keeping an open mind and trying to better understand the ways of the other people. Self-discovery is an important factor to many people who regard themselves as spiritual. Spirituality's objective is not always to reach a conclusion or solve a problem but rather to help find a direction, meaning and purpose in life.

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So this month, as we celebrate this holiday season, find some time to discover what helps you to put your life in balance.

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Spiritual Wellness Month

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By Akindman

Spiritual Wellness is a personal matter involving values and beliefs that provide a purpose in our lives. While different individuals may have different views of what spiritualism is, it is generally considered to be the search for meaning and purpose in human existence, leading one to strive for a state of harmony with oneself and others while working to balance inner needs with the rest of the world.

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It is important for everyone to explore what they believe is their own sense of meaning and purpose.

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The path to spiritual wellness may involve meditation, prayer, affirmations, or specific spiritual practices that support your connection to a higher power or belief system. Yoga and meditation can also help you develop spiritual wellness.

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Having compassion, the capacity for love and forgiveness, altruism, joy, and fulfillment help you enjoy your spiritual health. Your religious faith, values, beliefs, principles, and morals define your spirituality.

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Steps to Encourage Spiritual Wellness

• Explore your spiritual core — Ask yourself the big questions: Who am I? Why did I come here? Why do humans/the world exist? Why is there evil? What happens after death?
• Be quiet — Spend time alone and meditate regularly. Meditation is the process of being fully here, with all concentration focused on the now. By living in the present and letting go of the past and not worrying about the future, we can achieve the inner peace that we strive for while practicing meditation. There are many forms of meditation; find out which one is right for you.
• Be inquisitive and curious — An attitude of active searching increases your options and your potential for spiritual centering. Don't shut doors before you check out what's behind them.
• Be receptive to grief and pain — Pain is a deepener. Allow yourself to feel the pain fully, then ask what it's trying to teach you.
• Be and Do — Spirituality is about more than reading; it's about "doing" and being fully in the present moment in everything you do.
• Witness the choices you make in each moment — Bring them into consciousness; ask yourself what the consequences of a choice are and if the choice will bring fulfillment and happiness. Listen with the heart and be guided by messages of comfort and discomfort. If there is comfort, go for it! If there is discomfort, pause and reevaluate.
• Practice acceptance — See that life right now is as it "should be." Do not struggle against the universe by struggling against the moment. Take responsibility for your life without blaming anyone, including yourself. See what the situation can teach you and how you can share this teaching with others.
• Practice detachment — Allow yourself and those around you the freedom to be who they are. Recognize uncertainty as an essential aspect of life. See that solutions come out of problems, confusion, and chaos, and that uncertainty is the path to freedom.
• Be playful — Spirituality is in music, art, dance, laughter, singing, and all of life.
• Look for deeper meanings — If you notice that certain themes keep coming up over and over in your life, rather than feeling like you have no control over the situation, ask for the deeper meaning of the pattern to come to you. See the gift in your greatest troubles/problems/challenges. The Chinese word for catastrophe is the same as their word for opportunity.
• Take "seven breath" breaks — Stop periodically throughout the day, close your eyes, and take seven deep, slow belly breaths (breathe in to the count of seven, breathe out to the count of seven, seven times). Then, open your eyes and see your new world.

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We hope that each of you find your own spiritual wellness.

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Just Stay

(Another touching email arrived today worth sharing.  I hope you enjoy.)

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.

"Your son is here," she said to the old man.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.

He was heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack; he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength.  Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile.

He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.

Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.

"Who was that man?" he asked.

The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.

"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."

"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"

"I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here.  When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."  

The next time someone needs you ... just be there.  Stay.

We are not human beings going through a temporary spiritual experience.

We are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience.

Have a great day and bless someone else in some little way today!

God is so good, all the time.