Wellness. In it’s truest sense of the word is a fabulous concept. The act of nourishing the mind, body and spirit with all things good and beneficial. Now, before I launch into it, let me make an initial disclaimer: What is good for one person is not necessarily good or achievable for another. ‘Wellness’ or holistic health is personal, it is contextual, and in my opinion the overall aim is for an individual to achieve a sense of living lightly, at peace with themselves in all areas of their life. Wellness is about achieving your own individually balanced lifestyle. It is about maintaining healthy relationships and about knowing and loving yourself deeply, not conditionally.
Unfortunately the term ‘wellness’ has become somewhat of a
fad. Instagram is littered with ‘wellness accounts,’ and while some accounts
genuinely serve a great purpose, others both unintentionally, and sadly some
intentionally, encourage followers to strive to achieve a socially constructed ‘optimum
self’. This optimum is often solely focused on an idealised and usually unachievable
aesthetic. Let me now also mention, that nowhere in the definition of wellness
does it include the term ‘aesthetic’.
In an age where social media is the most prevalent means of
communication and self-presentation, I am terrified by what I witness posted on
some Instagram and Facebook accounts. I could go into a whole other blog
about learning healthy culture/attitudes surrounding our social media lives but
this is not my intention. In saying this, I think Instagram speaks for itself.
Although (once again) it serves a great purpose if used well, features such as filters,
edits, like count and pressure to obtain a certain amount of
followers to following ratio speak for themselves. They are implicitly telling us we need
to present ourselves in a certain way to achieve others acceptance, and more
terrifyingly, for us to accept ourselves.
I am all for yoga, a good healthy meal, a gym
workout and for investing time into yourself.
What I am not for is pushing a criteria or a standardised formula on anybody.
We are all different, and therefore require and NEED difference. I think we
need to be wary of falling into the trap that there is a single formula or ideal
that must equate to being ‘well’. We have a tendency to read into what we see
posted before us, when in all reality who actually knows how genuinely ‘well’
the stranger behind the Instagram picture is?
Wearing the latest range of organic tights doesn’t equate to
being well. Posting an image of a spinach smoothie doesn’t necessarily mean
that person has healthy relationships, healthy cholesterol levels, good blood
pressure or a healthy thought life. These photos are posted in isolation of a much greater whole. I love fashion, and I love my smoothies,
but please, I BEG you, do what is good for you, YOU, not me or the many Instagram
accounts you follow.
Be inspired by others, be challenged, but most of all do not
be consumed by an ideal; love you as you- being ok with ourselves is one of the
healthiest things we can achieve, not a certain hip to waist ratio.
And maybe, just maybe, we need to re-adjust what we define
achievement to be. Although I will be the first to cheer on someone who is
taking steps to be the best version of themselves (whatever that may be), sometimes having a
transparent or life enhancing conversation with a stranger, making a meal for
your friends or reading a thought provoking book, can be just as big of an
achievement as loosing ten kilo’s. There are no conditions on this- celebrate
your successes, whatever they are. If they are meaningful to you, they are
worth celebrating.
So let’s be real with one another. Let’s value
relationships and community. These are the things that are going to feed into
your life in the richest of ways. They are the things that will keep you
accountable, that will journey with you in a much deeper way than any of your
account followers. Let’s communicate to our young people, and people in
general, that they are worthy and enough; that they don’t need to filter over
their lives to achieve inherent value and significance.
There has never been a more consumerist driven society than
the one we currently live in. The more consumerism invades our personal
lives, the more we need to step outside of ourselves and meaningfully engage
with one another. Let’s back each other;
let’s celebrate each other’s personal successes without condition. Let’s take
time to get to know us deeply. Then we may be able to reflect the best version
of ourselves to others, whatever that is, and allow others to do the same. No
filter required, no formula needed, YOU are the formula.
Related verses:
Proverbs 14:30:
A peaceful heart leads to a
healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.
Matthew 6:21:
For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
Luke 12:15:
And
he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for
one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Matthew 16:26:
For what will it profit a man if he gains the
whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his
soul?
