There is a crisis permeating throughout the world today. The economy is failing, and the remaining wealth of the world is being squandered on wars and propping up monopolies. Mental illness is on the rise. Obesity has become an epidemic among the rich while starvation persists among the poor. It has been blamed on a lack of moral fiber, stupidity, laziness, incompetence, apathy, a lack of faith, superstition, greed and ennui. And the very same people who identify these problems so often do nothing about it. Too shy to speak or too timid to act they merely become depressed, fat, and uninteresting. Their minds rot for hours in front of a television screen and their bodies waste away.I say this from no mountain top as I too fit this description. I too have wondered what is wrong with the world. Why is it everyday in the news I see something heinous has happened in my city? Why do we have a health care crisis? Why are so many people, including myself, depressed, stressed and lost?
I was told that society was the problem. But then how does one change society? And what is society but a collection of individuals? I think that everyone likes to lay blame to a segment of society which they are not a part of as an act of avoidance. The truth is that the problem is individuals. You, me and everyone else in this world are sick or, at the very least, not as healthy as they could be.
What is it that I am talking about when I say healthy? The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as, "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". These three components make up the health triangle. What is interesting about the WHO's definition is the conceptualization of health as a gradient and not merely binary entity. We are not merely healthy or sick but rather have some degree of of well-being between ideally fit and dead. This is logical when you think about it but not immediately obvious as we often speak of being either healthy or sick.
Another interesting model is that of Abraham Maslow. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational model, not a health model, but I feel the concept of hierarchy fits well with the concept of a health gradient. Just as one must fufill certain needs before attempting to fufill higher needs, we must achieve a lesser level of health before achieving a higher level. However, Maslow's hierarchy has been criticized, as evidence has shown needs not to be hierarchical but equal and universal. This is in agreement with the model of health put forth by the WHO. However the common health triangle is missing the visual representation of a gradient.
I therefore propose a health pyramid. I also propose breaking up the mental component of health into intellectual and emotional components as I feel they are as equally important to health individually as the physical and social components. Progression from the base of the pyramid to the top is representative of progression through levels of health. The level of fitness in each component could be measured by comparison to normative data, or through satisfaction surveys.
It is my contention that most peoples pyramids are rather flat and lopsided, including my own. I believe that this is the true cause of the crisis in the world. Therefore, the only way to overt this crisis is to build our pyramids and help others build theirs. Changing society means changing ourselves. This is what Ghandi meant when he said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
I envision a world where people have the bodies of greek gods, the intellect of Einstein or DaVinci, the deepest and most meaningful relationships and utter bliss. There is no war, famine, or theft. The whole world is free and pursues the noblest endeavors. Athletics flourish, academia blossoms and relationships reach greater depths than ever before. This is the vision I have for the world. Time to start changing me.
