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WELLNESS WORKS |
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ConnectionsBy Jillian Hopkins
There's an African tribe who believe if one member in their community is ill, the whole community is ill. Therefore, each member of the tribe participates in the healing process, from preparing food, to caring for children, sweeping floors, giving massages to singing songs. The ill person is not seen as a separate person, but rather an essential part of themselves. We've all been recipients of someone's kindness when ill or facing a hardship. Humans have the capacity to be exquisitely responsive to others when adversity strikes. The poignancy about this tribe's practice is not only the practical help that's provided, but also what's at the root of the giving: the acknowledgement that the community's illness (or health) is intricately interconnected. Research has proven there's a link between the mind and physical health. Countless studies back this up. This is not a "woo-woo" thing. Most major medical schools have a mind/body medicine component, if not a whole entire school, as part of their program (i.e. Johns Hopkins, Harvard and Yale). Now ample medical evidence shows the connection between relationships and physical health. "People with rich personal networks, who are married, have close family and friends and are active in social and religious groups, recover more quickly from disease and live longer," states Daniel Goleman, Ph.D. author of the international bestseller "Emotional Intelligence". The word "healing" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "haelen", which means whole. Andrew Weil, MD, wellness guru says, "health is wholeness and wholeness implies connectedness - to family, friends, tribe, nation, humanity, the earth and whatever high power you conceive of as the creator of the universe." Ultimately, connectedness, or lack of, plays profoundly in our overall health and well-being. Our modern world has made mind-boggling advances in technology. We connect with expediency and efficiency. Yet, despite the ability to make instant contact via cell phones, text messaging, emails, live streaming and live webcasts, individuals complain of feeling lonely, isolated and disconnected. We link up, but we remain broken off from one another. One antidote to our disconnection may be to ask ourselves the question posed by David Swimmer, mathematician, cosmologist and author, "Are we mutually enhancing our relationships…. not only our relationships with each other, but with all of life?" From the relationship we have with our own body, mind and spirituality to that of another individual, to our family, community, nation, to the earth community and beyond - are our thoughts and actions mutually enhancing our relationships or are we only taking and retreating? We are extremely fortunate to be living in these islands. Even if we have a small circle of family and friends, when an islander experiences a crisis, the ripples go out and are felt by the whole community. In the three short years I've lived here, I've witnessed countless acts of kindness…from helping a neighbor find their missing cat to volunteering at one or more of our island's non-profits to traveling to other parts of the country and world to do relief work. The giving that is generated in this community is inspiring. Whether we sign up for a cause we believe in, make chicken soup for a sick friend, volunteer at our children's school, pick up litter on a beach, read to a home-bound elderly person, eat better food, learn techniques for managing stress, take a quiet walk, forgive someone's thoughtlessness, tell our life-partner or child three reasons why we love them, or simply acknowledge someone we pass on the street with a smile - we are enhancing our lives, individually and collectively. Consider writing a list of the ways you currently "mutually enhance" your connections. The connection with your family, friends, community …even to people with whom you may have difficulties…to wildlife, the earth, water, wind and sky…to your own body, mind and spirit. Now, make a list of how you might expand upon what you already do. Include three new connections you would like to develop. From the simple and mundane to the complex and highly visible, each mutually enhancing action we take is one toward health and wellness for all of life. When caring for their ill tribe member, it's unlikely the African community stops and analyzes why they help in the way they do. Their practice is integral to their lives and to who they are as a people. They see no separation, only their oneness. The great Persian poet Rumi said, "there are a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the ground." There are a hundred ways we can connect with one another and with ourselves in a healthy, nurturing and loving way.
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