Health - Creating a Concept

Somewhere on this website I must have mentioned that I am in the business of health – or that I ‘care’ both in an active and passive sense.  I ‘care’ that people have equitable and equal access to health care, I ‘care’ that people consider what health means to them and I ‘care’ that they are motivated to lobby for and demand of their society that which is necessary to live full lives.  I am also compelled to care.  To give care.  It is not just my job, it is my privilege.  Yet deciding what ‘health’ means is a difficult task.    In keeping with the philosophy of this website, I don’t actually have to decide.  I choose to create it.  Health is not a science which when performed right can be achieved but rather a way of going through the world – of learning, of becoming and always becoming something new.

According to many health organizations the degree to which people achieve health is determined by a host of factors. Good genetics, environmental influences, gender, culture, socioeconomic status, …. All these things and more constitute the ‘determinants of health’.  The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains that personal coping strategies, which I take to mean personality, is also a determinant.  Chopra speaks of ‘glass have full people’ who do not dwell on what isn’t and these are found everywhere and in all societies.  These people might be viewed as healthier if only because they dwell less on ill health.  With all these determinants beyond our control, it is a bit hard to believe in the ‘power of one’…our own power to ‘be’ healthy.

Many years ago I was taught that health was the absence of disease.  Understanding that this was too limiting we progressed to a state of mental, physical and social wellbeing.  But still this requires consideration of what we cannot do allowing for an either/or fixed concept.  Given the growing awareness of inequities on this planet we also might think of health as that which can be fixed with better resources. WHO states, “In the 21st century, health is a shared responsibility, involving equitable access to essential care and collective defence against transnational threats.” One would be healthy given enough food, available drugs, more tests to find the cause of ill health and adequate housing.  Yet once we go beyond the most basic of needs, what is the meaning of adequate?  Or essential?  And how, really do we dodge these constant threats?  We certainly seem to be all mixed up with regards to H1N1.

Considering health as a way to ‘become’ might open up space for us as individuals and societies to both give and take care.  There are no limits to where we can take ourselves, our communities and this planet.  Considering health as a way to ‘become’ does not leave room for judgement or failure or fear.  It makes room for hope.