don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

I was in Italy last week when 19 mutant Islamic fundamentalists on four hijacked airliners attacked civilization. Even with a commentary in a language I could not understand, it seemed impossible to stop watching. Like Americans at home, however, at some point I knew escape from this kind of news was essential, at least temporarily. Now, over a week later, some personal sorting out seems in order. Each of us must, for our health among other reasons, consider how best to assess and deal with the horrors that have descended upon us.

I have been mulling some basic questions that explore the connections between living a wellness lifestyle and dealing with the events of September 11. For wellness seekers, what special choices do we face, what perspectives might apply? Beyond wellness, there are the more basic questions to ask, such as “How might peace be taken back?” “Can the problems that led to these events be solved or mitigated?” So far, “answers” seem distant and first reactions seem suspect. Some of those with clear, simple and passionate answers seem almost as scary and dangerous as the terrorists.

Despite the uncertainties, complexities and lack of confident conclusions, I’m willing to pose a few questions from a wellness point of view. I hope you find these helpful in framing your own questions and ideas for change, as well as for purposes of continuing your journey toward an epic life.

• Does it make any difference to be aware of and practicing wellness when terrorists hijack airliners and fly them into buildings?
• Does possession of a wellness mindset help at such times as are upon us? How do the key principles associated with emotional intelligence, effective decision-making, stress management, mental health, meaning and purpose and the like contribute in a positive way to understanding, coping with or otherwise making sense of the nearly unimaginable horrors of September 11?
• How might we stay focused on the big picture (the proverbial forest) in order to think most effectively about the personal tragedies (the trees?) Responding to my essay on Tuesday about the Titanic, Dr. Judd Allen wrote: “I sometimes feel we are currently on the Titanic. With AIDS striking large numbers of Russians and Africans, there seems to be only so much lifesaving drugs (lifeboats) to go around. People don't seem to get alarmed unless it’s someone they know or someone who looks like them. This is a moral crisis of epic proportions.”
• Without excusing or overlooking the cruelty of the killers, what responsibility, if any, does our own government bear for conditions that partially fueled this kind of hatred toward America? How much does that matter, at this point? Should we ask ourselves how can it be that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes could themselves, in THEIR minds, be exacting revenge for OUR outrages? Is it not ironic that it was the U.S. government that trained and funded many of these same people? (A few years ago, we called the Islamic fundamentalists in Afghanistan “freedom fighters” because their targets were Soviets.) How come America is THE great target today, and not Australia or some other western country?
• Is there any response other than war (or worse, another “crusade”) that can mitigate or prevent bizarre acts by fanatical people who despise our cultural and economic systems, our religions and freedoms (including our freedom NOT to have religion, if so disposed)? Is it possible to convince these people that they and we have rights to choose different philosophies about God and the way life should be lived?
• Can we do what must be done about the threat of terrorism and still protect our own interests as a free people? Are we ready to sacrifice constitutional liberties which, to date, have been at the core of what it means to be American? Would doing so not signal a clear victory for the terrorists?
• What about the American ayatollahs? Are there Timothy McVeigh types who might ponder home-style acts of terror inspired by home-based religious zealots? What shall we make of the Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson types who preach hatred for those different from themselves? What do YOU think of preachers who claim to know what God is thinking, which coincidentally reflects what they think? Do you believe that YOUR God got mad and decided “to lift a curtain of protection” previously draped around the U.S.? Do you think any God would teach Americans (as Falwell and Robertson stated) “a richly deserved lesson” by taking the lives of a random selection of firefighters, police, airline passengers, etc? Are there unbalanced followers out there who might interpret Falwell’s remarks accusing the ACLU, the court system, abortionists, pagans, feminists, gays and lesbians, People For the American Way and even “Christ-haters” of “bringing about this tragedy on America” as a call to action?
• Can we remain a secular republic without an established church or an official religion? As Paul Kurtz points out, "our population represents a wide spectrum of pluralistic cultures, ethnicities, and religious traditions, which includes nonbelievers, atheists, and agnostics as well."
• How can we best separate the people of Afghanistan from the likes of the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden? Tamim Ansary, an Afghani-American writer, claims the Taliban and Ben Laden are not remotely representative of Afghanistan, but rather constitute “a cult of ignorant psychotics.” Ansary writes, “When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think the people of Afghanistan, think the Jews in the concentration camps." He argues that the Afghan people “had nothing to do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would exult if someone would come in there, take out the Taliban and clear out the rat's nest of international thugs holed up in their country.” Is this what our leaders have in mind? Will we make these distinctions?
• I don’t think for a minute that these are necessarily the most important questions or the questions that YOU ought to be asking, but they are the questions that came to me when shaping my own wellness perspective on this American and worldwide tragedy.

I’ll give you my take on the wellness view of things tomorrow. For the moment, please look after yourself and your health, be well and try, somehow, to look on the bright side as much as possible, however overwhelmingly difficult doing so must seem at the moment.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of lifestyle habits. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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