I’ve had this page now for about 10 months, and it’s about wellness. I sat down to try to come up with my definition of wellness, and I realized it was still quite nebulous.
One concept that resonated with me was a concept that I believe I got from one of the books I read in the time before my migraines–its the concept that true self care isn’t bubble baths, facials, massages–I mean, it can include those things, those are nice. True self care is the concept of creating a life from which you don’t need escape.
I also decided to look up some formal definitions of wellness.
UC Davis defines wellness as “an active process of becoming aware of and making choices towards a healthy and fulfilling life…more than being free from illness, it is a dynamic process of change and growth.”
The World Health Organization defines it as “…a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the abscence of disease or infirmity.”
The National Wellness Institute defines it as “a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential.”
Where I have always acknowledged that one has to be aware of the mental, physical and spiritual aspects to be completely well, the National Wellness Institute sites 6 dimensions of wellness, and UC Davis has as many as eight: occupational, emotional, spiritual, environmental, financial, physical, social, and intellectual.
It makes me chuckle to have arrived here after all this time–that wellness is a journey, not so much a destination. Something so obvious–something I have seen play out in my life and in my struggles to do this. Something I have seen play out in this blog. It took seeing it written in black and white, by scientific minds to really get it. I feel a little basic…lol.
A thought that is reinforced by this definition: Imperfection is okay, but giving up is not.
Live well, friends.