don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

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

Interpreting history of any kind is tricky business, fraught with perils. Consider Ambrose Bierce's definition of the trade: "An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools."

Who invented the idea of wellness? Did it take shape over a long period of time, little by little and bit by bit? Or, is wellness too diverse, complex and brilliant to have evolved on its own through natural selection -- and therefore must have had an "intelligent designer?" Well, I suppose there are a few religious zealots out there living healthy lifestyles consistent with wellness principles who might want to think the concept could only be explained as "creationism," the "intelligent design" of -- who else? A god! Well, forget that. It takes, in the memorable words of U.S. District Judge John Jones III, "breathtaking inanity" to believe such a thing.
 
I invented wellness, and while I like to think I exhibited a bit of intelligent design in doing so, I don't want to be considered an extraterrestrial or deified for it. If you insist I am your Redeemer, I will deny it. If you set up a religion based upon my teachings ("Ardellianity?" "Islamadon?" "Donaldism?"), I will denounce it as apostasy, blasphemy and an impertinence up with which I will not put. If you try to convince others I was born of a virgin, I will sue you for defaming my dear old mom. If you come to me seeking miracles, you will be sadly disappointed. I won't even pretend to heal you, unlike Benny Hinn, Billy Graham or other charlatans raking in big bucks pulling the proverbial wool over the eyes of rubes. In summary, if you want to believe preposterous nonsense in a pathetic attempt to make your life bearable or comforting, well, don't expect my complicity in the charade. 
 
What's more, I was only kidding about inventing wellness. I did no such thing. However, I did invent DBRU equivalents with a little help from Gary Larson  ("The Far Side"), but that's neither here nor there. Halbert L. Dunn, a physician, invented wellness, or at least the word "wellness." Actually, Dr. Dunn created the phrase "high level wellness" in the 1950's. Just the same, it's important to consider that the term wellness is derived from ideas rooted in the heyday of Greek and Roman civilizations. 
 
The nature of wellness was first described by physician Dunn in a small book published in 1961 (High-level Wellness, Arlington, VA: RW Beatty).  The book contained Dunn's 13 lectures given to the congregants of a Unitarian Universalist Church in Arlington, VA. Dunn's wellness vision was limited compared to the full blown descriptions available today, as you might expect after a half century of evolution of the concept. For example, I have, in books, newsletters, lectures and at SeekWellness.com, expanded the concept into three dimensions and sixteen skill areas. To me, wellness is many things, seldom defined quite the same way from week to week. It emphasizes personal responsibility, individual excellence, the cultivation of one's passions, the refinement of critical thinking skills and the life-long quest for added meaning and purpose -- not to mention or at least dwell upon such other basic lifestyle assets as humor, play, optimism, extraordinary fitness and more.
 
However, these evolved and sophisticated notions about wellness would have been unlikely at present without foundations laid down thousands of years ago -- in Athens. Specifically, contemporary wellness enthusiasts have constructed their ideas on a foundation of core values like separation of church and state, constitutional government, the skills of and respect for scientific investigation, the capacity for self-criticism and tolerance for minority views. These are perquisites for wellness mindsets. A wellness philosophy necessitated the context of freedom and democratic ideals laid down by the Greeks.
 
Wellness also entails moral, intellectual and political values "productive of a good life for mankind." (Frank M. Turner, Wall Street Journal, 5/20/98, p.A12.) While the threat of the "Evil Empire of Communism" has passed, that of intolerant, religious terrorism at war with modernity makes the old Russian bugaboo seem cuddly by comparison. What's more, the policies justified by the fight against terrorists embraced by the ruling Republican Right within seem as odious to civil liberties now as the Soviet threat from outside did during the long period of the Cold War.  

In the next essay, I'll get around to the ancient history of wellness. I'm out of breadth and space at the moment. Be well. Always look on the bright side of life. 

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MENTAL DOMAIN under the skill area of factual knowledge. 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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