The question of health

The question of health has been concerning me recently, specifically if one can be sick and healthy at the same time.

Is health the absences of disease or more or less than this? The World Health Organisation takes a very broad stance on this ‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ (have a look here)

This sets the bar very high and I’m not sure that anyone ever has or will fulfil this definition, or if someone does it would be for 15 mins on a good day. So that’s not much use in a practical way.

What started me thinking about this was the early illness and death of Shizuto Masunaga the ‘founder’ of Zen Shiatsu; he was a keen smoker and died of Lung Cancer. I was less interested in the nature of his death than the question of if he could be with cancer and still be considered healthy. This may sound like, and indeed be a very stupid question but it has been bothering me for some time.

We are all dying and I suppose in that way we are all not healthy. One eastern idea of health is balance and of being in balance, can one be very seriously ill and still have balance within that, to be in pain and still be healthy. I feel that the idea of balance may allow for this; that the balance can move and shift to accommodate where we are at. If I think about my body when I was 16 and how it is now the difference is so marked. My every day experience of my body today would have had me rushing to the doctor when I was 16. It’s just ageing (dying) and for me now, normal. I’m fine, in a good place for my age just not 16.

I don’t have an answer but I will continue ruminating on this I’m sure, if you wish to join me please leave a comment below.