Attending to Your Well-Being is Community Service (by Priti Chandra Klco)
In my last post [link] I offered a definition of health that describes the balanced function of body, mind, and senses, and includes a pleasant feeling of well-being. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge just how powerful a state of well-being is.
When you are in a great mood, feeling good in your body, feeling clear and relaxed in your mind, do you get upset by things? Or are you able to put challenges in perspective? But when you are in pain, fatigued, or worried, notice how even small things can send you into anxiety, anger, sadness, frustration, and distraction. You know from experience that mundane logistics can appear to be insurmountable on days when you are feeling bad, not to mention unexpected or sustained challenges (like our current situation).
Let’s try an experiment.
Right where you are, take a moment to bring your body into a slightly more comfortable position. Perhaps sit up taller. Take a few deeper breaths. Relax. Feel the sensations that are present in your body (whether they are pleasant or unpleasant; just be aware). Now imagine a time when you felt really good: a circumstance when you were truly happy, grateful, inspired, or content. Bring as much detail as you can into awareness. Notice where you feel the sensations of this good experience in your body. Let these sensations fill your whole body (if there are still some places that feel blocked, that’s OK). Use your breath to help you expand the feeling of well-being as much as you can. Now, maintaining connection to the felt sense of well-being, look around.
From the state of well-being, how are you inhabiting the world? What sort of “vibe” are you offering to anyone who crosses your path? How might your feeling of being well influence the interactions you have…even influencing how you interpret what happens in your day? Can you see how well-being is empowering you to participate positively in life?
This is why I say that attending to your well-being is real, tangible service to the community. When you are oxygenated, nourished, and rested, you can think and act effectively. The clearer and more connected you are within your own body and mind, the more capable you are of responding to the needs at hand. Our internal and external conditions are constantly shifting. This understanding of health as a dynamic process of well-being, rather than a static state, is helpful in discovering what it takes to live in health. In the lifelong journey toward health, we need a team of people and a toolbox of resources to support us. Because of the dynamic nature of life, we need different things at different times to keep moving towards balance.
At PranaBeing, I’m creating an initiative called Build Health [link to www.pranabeing.com. I’m sharing all sorts of knowledge and practices to support your well-being…for free. I’d love for you to participate and share with anyone else who can benefit. Let’s serve our community by cultivating well-being!