don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

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

What is perspective? Perspective quite simply means the choice of a reference from which to sense, categorize, measure or codify experience. A science-based perspective about our individual, social, planetary and yes, even galactic place in the vast universe seems to me a very good thing, something not possible throughout most of human existence but readily available today, providing the view is not obstructed by superstition or simple ignorance. Think of perspective as a sensible, realistic but still cheerful awareness of the true nature of the natural world, as best we can comprehend it at this time in history. Cosmic awareness and wonder seem good start points for REAL wellness.

All of which leads me to ask a slightly rhetorical question: "What is REAL wellness and why should anyone bother with it?

Oftentimes, people ask me, Don, why waste your time writing about wellness? Many leaders in the health and business sectors as well as consumers interested in living wisely and well are skeptical about the appeal of the wellness concept and the wellness movement. This is the case even when the term is used in a sensible fashion, for instance, as an active process through which people become aware of, and make choices towards, a more successful existence.

The closest thing to an official definition of the term wellness, besides the above phrase attributed to the pioneering author/physician Halbert L. Dunn, is this:  "A conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential in a multi-dimensional, positive and affirming manner that encompasses lifestyle and mental well-being, as well as  a concern for the environment."

Wow—that's a mouthful and a bit much for many regular, down-to-earth folks to digest. This expansive definition, which I paraphrased and edited (excising the vague words holistic and spiritual), can be found at the website of the National Wellness Institute (NWI).

Anyway, as I mentioned a moment ago, I'm sometimes asked, "Don, why waste your time writing about wellness?"

My answer is that I do NOT waste time writing about wellness. I have given up on wellness. It is beyond repair. It's boring, medical in nature and focused on issues that others already address quite well enough (e.g., exercise and eating wisely). 

Instead, I promote REAL wellness. This is not an inefficient use of time. While even fewer know what REAL wellness is, nobody who discovers the concept finds it boring. Furthermore, REAL wellness does not lend itself to exploitation by product promoters, spa foo-foo entrepreneurs, medical quacks or corporate worksite risk reduction managers. Few merchants want to explain REAL wellness elements, such as meaning and purpose, critical thinking, applied ethics or anything else not easily marketed in cookie cutter fashion, like risk appraisals, medical testing, fitness assessments and the like. 

REAL wellness is about mindsets and lifestyles that reflect a reasoned existence of exuberant life quality founded on personal freedom and social liberty.

Who would not be interested in that? Compared with the blah blah generalities of the wellness definition summarized above, my REAL wellness definition seems rather straightforward, specific and consequential.

In other words, the quality of life focus of REAL wellness is different (though complementary) from the orientation of extant plain vanilla wellness. The major difference, however, is that REAL wellness goes to the heart of issues not addressed in worksite wellness programming. Why is that? Why do companies and other sponsors of wellness efforts avoid teaching critical thinking skills, stimulating meaning and purpose assessments, exploring ethical values and promoting dialogues about pathways to exuberant living, personal freedoms and stewardship of the environment?

I believe these REAL wellness matters are avoided because they are more difficult to manage. Most people are unfamiliar with the topics. Most are not accustomed to discussing value-laden issues in an open, objective and stress-free fashion. In short, the REAL wellness areas, as opposed to the standard fodder of worksite wellness, are rich in potentials for controversy—and companies do not want to rock proverbial boats.

Maybe doing so, especially if it leads to improved understanding and better choices, is worth the risk of a little controversy.

One topic in particular might prove very controversial, but it's a topic that needs evaluation as much as any I can imagine. It's the subject that Christopher Hitchens claims poisons everything. I refer, of course, to religion.

Fitness, nutrition, stress management and risk reduction—all widely recognized as key elements of good health, good life and good citizenship and none of it is controversial. Religion—this is the playing field for war, terrorism and all forms of mayhem associated with intolerance and tribalism. For a sample, enjoy this segment of a recent Penn & Teller show. My kind of a REAL wellness lecture would be to show this, and follow it with small group discussions of the Catholic Church's involvement in the modern world. Focus on topics of great consequence such as the Church positions like anti-homosexuality, demonizing condom use, discouraging church/state separation, opposition to science (e.g., stem cell research) and priest abuse sex scandal—and the official cover up of such scandals. Maybe add to the discussion the role of Pope Benedict the XVI. Discuss views on whether this Pope and the Vatican do more good than harm in the world and why.

Now, that is my kind of a REAL wellness agenda. Offer this as a lunch and learn topic and you will get great attendance, media play and an animated conversation about reason, critical thinking, freedom, liberty, science versus revelation and all manner of things people care about.

REAL wellness enthusiasts, such as yours truly, foresee a time when wellness promotion explicitly supports secular values, interpretations and institutions. A time when science is embraced as the preferred path to reason, freedom of inquiry and morality. My own REAL wellness advocacy, as some might have noticed, includes non-stop efforts to inject such secular ethical values of a humanist nature into (REAL) wellness promotion.

A powerful cultural norm in America, and just about everywhere else on earth, is to avoid the topic of religion, to leave it alone, unchallenged (along with sex and politics), protected—and not just at polite dinner gatherings. This seems unhealthy and hazardous to liberty, especially in America where Republican politicians and religious interest groups seem inclined to a lot more theocracy and a good bit less secularism.

Unfortunately, religion is usually hostile to reason, science, liberty and other elements of REAL wellness. In many ways, creationists are still fighting the teaching of evolution in favor of a 10,000 year universe. Thanks to religion, 40 percent of this nation's people believe in a young earth wherein humans and dinosaurs had to deal with each other. In their view, science is not to be trusted. The Catholic Church and nearly all devout protestants, not just the fundy fringe, prefer revealed dogma over evidence to explain the natural world. They claim that without religious myths, a sense of wonder is impossible.

A REAL wellness seminar could easily show that an appreciation for science enhances the experience of the natural world more convincingly than religion ever could. Consider a universe 78 billion light years across spanning 100 billion galaxies—and compare that with God did it. Science is Shakespeare, Housman, Yeats and Whitman; superstition is Look Jane, see it go, see it go up.

Let's welcome controversy—and protect the precious right we enjoy to speak freely, despite the risks and added challenges associated with controversy. Religion is too important to remain largely off limits; blasphemy exists only in the ears of the offended. Blasphemy is a victimless expression and should never be prosecuted (as it is in all Islamic countries and would be here if the Religious Right could have their way about it). We must no longer be shy (or intimidated) about expanding the wellness concept to include foundation elements for human betterment. A good life, here and now—shaped by reason, exuberance and liberty, is a worthy goal. It might be the next level for the promotion of healthy and fulfilling choices that most enhance the quality of this life, the only one we do and can know anything about. 

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MEANING DOMAIN under the skill area of applied wellness. 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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