Why Health is Important — But, Not for Everyone! — AumsWow Blogs
By: Aumswow Wellness
Tags: Importance Of Health, Health, Healthcare, Health Foods, Healthy Lifestyle

This is 2nd part of the “Basic Health Blog Series”. In the previous blog “What is Health? Simplified…” we had the introduction of health. In this part, we shall discuss why health is important for everyone? And, why a few of us do not keep it on their priority?

Flesch reading ease score: 71 — Fairly easy to read

Read time: 12 minutes

Let Me ask Myself about it

What if I lose my health?

Photo Courtesy: Nathan Cowley

Well, before we start the discussion about the importance of health; let us think individually for a moment. If I am not healthy then:

Shall I be able to bear the pain and irritation — that is beyond my imagination?

How my spouse will handle the stress and bear the load of the family, and that is along with my sickness?

How my spouse will cope with the financial burden, and that is with an additional load of my treatment cost?

Who will take care of my children — whose life and future are depending on me?

Who will look after my parents — the ones who invested their whole life in upbringing me?

Who will manage my business or the job — I have worked hard to raise to this level?

What will happen to the quality and longevity of my life?

Why Health?

The body is the only place to live in. It must be healthy.

Photo Courtesy: Andre Furtado

We all know and we have also discussed a lot about health in a previous blog “What is Health? Simplified…”. There we came to know that health — the physical one — is the basis of all other dimensions of life.

Our body is like a motor car that makes us travel our journey of life. This journey will be full of comfort and enjoyment; if the vehicle is in good — healthy — condition. Otherwise, destiny will definitely be the different one.

The success of life, in all respects, do depend upon the health of the body. But, for some people, this fact has no effect at all.

Health is the life of life itself. Dr. Aum

What makes People not have the Right Attitude towards Health?

Well said that it is the attitude towards health that makes the difference. We may come across people with a different — sometimes opposite — mindset for health. Here are a few reasons to discuss:

People with Aimless — and hence Lifeless — Life

Aimless people do not honour the life itself, what to say for their health concerns.

Photo Courtesy: Olya Kobruseva

Sometimes we come across such people who have a negative approach to life and hence, health of course. We may see them saying that once death is the final destination of life; then what is the need for a concept of health.

The fact that “one day all — irrespective of being healthy or unhealthy — will die for sure”; should never make a human being act like a feeble animal.

We can see people doing different routine activities like business, job, and labour, etc. If we ask them a question about why are doing it; the simple answer will be “for Money”. Further, we can ask them what will they do with money; the answer is obvious “for Livelihood”.

One more question we can ask is that “being alive what will they do”. This final question remains unanswered by a lot of people. This folk — those who do not have the answer to this question — is the herd of aimless individuals.

What can we expect from a person about health consciousness, once he is not aware of his precious life itself?

Everyone is born with a purpose, seek it out or else you are worse than the waste on this beautiful earth. Dr. Aum

Even Being Human, We are Worse than Animal with Respect to Health

We — the social animal — are worse than the wild animal with respect to health.

We — human beings — do believe ourselves to be the most genius among all the creatures in the universe. And of course, we are! We have also proved it through a lot of endeavours.

But, a big group of people is not aware of their health, its process, its importance, and hence its maintenance. They are just limited to make the progress of their biological-chain, that is born, eat, and die. They are not concern about being healthy or unhealthy for their own self and their descendants.

To our surprise, other species of the animal kingdom are also making this chain — born, eat, and die — to continue. And they are making it fantastically with more fun and joy than us. Then what’s the difference between an ordinary animal and the creature with superconscious — we, the human being.

On the other hand, sometimes we notice that the animal are more concerned about their health and wellbeing. We have seen that unlike human beings the animal go on fast of their own once they get ill. They fall ill by chance. But, we fall ill by choice — as more than 70% of diseases are lifestyle diseases.

If we are getting born like a seahorse — Male seahorses possess the remarkable ability to give birth to thousands of babies at once, eating like a pig, working like a Jenny, and dying like a Mayfly — have the shortest lifespan of any animal on Earth, just 24 hours; then our life is not the life worth living like a human being. Dr. Aum

No Health Education in Schools

Education at school is lacking the curriculum of basic health.

Photo Courtesy: Max Fischer

We know everyone got their own interest; so the schools do have. The interest of the school — most of the time — is to mark its presence in the tally of the top score achievers of the year. Further, these top scorers could get their rank in profession orienting competitive examinations and create a testimony for the newcomers; and it continues. They keep on producing Businessmen, Scientists, Engineers, and others, etc.

The basic education about health is missing from the syllabus. The education system is designed to make the young successful, financially the most. Hence, from the beginning, the scorecard reads the marks in numbers.

Health was never their favorite subject and it was not felt like an important one by the education promoters. Whereas, it has been the need for all since the beginning of mankind.

The body organs and their systems — especially the healing ones — must be taught in the school.

Everyone should know how to handle his own machine — the body he owns.

To our bad luck, while learning to survive in this age of competition; we have forgotten to learn for the survival of our own existence itself.

The craze to crack competitive examinations has caused health education to lose its importance in schools. Dr. Aum

It is neither a Home Work too

It is the attitude towards health that makes the difference.

For ages, children have lost to learn at home. Education at home is not in practice now. Start from the early morning till late in the evening, the young are busy in school, tuition, or with their homework. Therefore, there is no time to learn at home.

Besides the above, these days the parents and guardians have developed an attitude that their role is limited to pay the fees for the education and its facilities. Providing education is the sole responsibility of the institutes, so whatever is presented to their children sounds correct to them.

Sometimes, the parents and guardians do not have the knowledge of the subject either, or again depend upon the school’s system for the learnings of their children.

Machines are Trending to Work like Human, and the Human are becoming Machines

Machine and human are interchanging their roles; ultimately

making human to lose health priorities.

Photo Courtesy: Cottonbro

As long as the knowledge about elementary health is concerned, most of us are illiterate.

A businessman knows how to take care of the business. An engineer knows how to make and maintain the machines. A scientist knows how to understand the phenomenon. But, alas! Most of them do know how to take care, maintain and, understand the body itself.

In addition to our shortcomings mentioned above, the competitive era has made us run like a rabbit behind the scheduled targets; the targets which are already running at the speed of a cheetah. This “race” leaves no time left for us to focus on our health and it’s related issues.

We are becoming like machines day by day. But, we forget that even machines do need proper care, regular maintenance, and correct input; so that they can function optimally. Dr. Aum

Modern Medical Practitioners are Depriving us of the Learning about Health

Modern medical practitioner reflects our health care in a different — the opposite — way

Photo Courtesy: Jorien Stel

Modern medicine — also called Allopathy — is a system to take care of the sick person under the flagship of medical professionals — Doctors. Let us explore the word “Doctor” itself. This word has been derived from the Latin word “ docere” — whichmeans to teach.

So the one, who teaches someone — here the patient — about something — here the health; is called Doctor. We are well versed with the word “doctrine” — theory — which means the essence of teaching.

It is better to teach the people about preventives than drugging them at illness. Dr. Josiah Oldfield

By exploring the theory of “cause and effect”, we all know that nothing can happen without a valid cause. The same applies to the sickness as well.

This is also true that more than 70% of diseases are “not” caused by pathogens — bacteria, virus, and fungi, etc.

Then the doctor — literally teacher — should tell us about”what that makes us sick” and must teach us “what can we do to get free from this, forever”.

But, so sorry to say that the doctor, instead of teaching us to become perfect healthwise; is making us dependent on lifeless medicines. Sometimes, we feel that even the body’s own sensors are blocked with painkillers, and capacity — immunity — is suppressed with immunosuppressants.

Ultimately, leaving us “uneducated” towards health — our own health.

Importance of Health, Globally

Photo Courtesy: The Sage

The importance of health at the international level is well identified and the efforts are on to achieve the same by global authorities — especially the World Health Organisation. Here is an example:

“ We demand health because of its role in facilitating and providing happiness to us. Health has two dimensions that are #1: the length of life — longevity — and #2: the quality of life. The quality of life affects us directly and indirectly. Directly it affects our enjoyment of goods and leisure. And Indirectly it enhances our productivity.” — Economic Report of the President, USA.

Source: www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ERP-2008/pdf/ERP-2008-chapter4.pdf

Ayurveda on Importance of Health

Importance of health according to Ayurveda — Charak Samhita Nidaan 6/7

सर्वमन्यत् परित्यज्य शरीरमनुपालयेत।

तद्भावेही भावानां सर्वाभाव: शरीरिणाम् ।

- चरक संहिता निदान ६/७ Sarvmanyate Parityjaya Shariramanupalyet.

Tadbhavehi Bhavanaam Sarvaabhav Sharirinaam. - Charak Samhita Nidaan 6/7

This means that leaving all worldly things behind, we must care for our body. Because, if the body is lost then everything is lost.

And also..

Being healthy is far superior to the other four objectives of life.

धर्मार्थकाममोक्षाणामारोग्यम् मूलमुत्तमम्। Dharmarthkaammokshanamaarogyam Mooluttamam. Veda Texts

This means, being Healthy — free from Diseases — is far superior to the other four objectives — Dharm, Arth, Kaam, and Moksha — of life.

Steve Jobs — Founder of Apple Inc. — on Importance of Health

Steve Jobs was the founder of Apple Inc. — the first trillion-dollar company in the world. In the last days of his life, he had the bitter experience of ill health.

While in the sickbed, he expressed his views on all the aspects of life — especially on the importance of health. A few of them are given here in his own words — without further explanation.

“What is the most expensive bed in the world? — “Sick bed” … You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you.” “ Treat yourself well. Cherish other s.” “Should be something that is more important: Perhaps relationships, perhaps art, perhaps a dream from younger days. Non-stop pursuing wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me.” Steve Jobs — Founder of Apple Inc.

One more relevant quote from Steve Jobs — the legendary personality of the era — is here.

When a person goes into the operating room, he will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish reading — “Book of Healthy Life”. Steve Jobs — Founder of Apple Inc.

The Conclusion

Take-Home

Since the beginning of mankind, health has been important.

Different cultures and literature have promoted it in their own way.

We may or may not agree to or like this concept of the importance of health. But, the fact remains the same — Health is Important.

Modern medical professionals are no more interested to teach us health.

Among the properties of health, we must know that

Health is a natural and balanced state of the body.

It continues in the same fashion until we mishandle it or lack its maintenance on regular basis.

Let us take the charge of our own health

Because of any reason — not having the appropriate knowledge or sufficient time — we are unable to look after ourselves. Now technology has come up to bail us out of this situation and we can be the in-charge of our health. Let us stay healthy through some simple steps.