Wellness - 3 - Know Yourself

My door bell rang.

It was one of my friends—making a surprise visit saying that he was passing by. “Could I just drop-in to say a Hi?” He asked with a brimming smile.

I was happy seeing him too, after a long time. I offered him a cup of coffee.

“My goodness, no! I am on a ‘health-program’ and I take only water”

I remarked, half-jokingly, “Before food or after food?”

He smiled and replied, “Many times, instead of food!”

He explained to me, pretty passionately, about Hydrotherapy and its benefits; about the connection between our body and water, and so on. The irresistible aroma of deep-fried samosas wafted in through my neighbour’s window. Briefly, I toyed with the idea of dropping in to my neighbour’s house, making it look like a casual visit!

I can resist anything but temptation, I thought.

Hours after my friend left, I was still ruminating over the strong connection between Wellness and Hydrotherapy, when my father walked in and asked me if I could drop him at his friend’s house. As we were driving, I asked my father, “Who is this friend? What is he?”

My father said, “He is a very inspiring person. At the ripe old age of 96, he washes his own cloths, sits and sleeps only on the floor, lives all by himself and is pretty active & robust!”

“Gosh!” I thought to myself. “Here’s my golden chance to understand more lucidly about Wellness. After all, one of the main objectives of Wellness is to live long and well. Isn’t it?”

My father’s friend was pretty delighted to see me. He started off our conversation straightaway with a very pointed question about the dark circles around my eyes. I quickly deflected the topic and asked him about Hydrotherapy. 

He seemed amused, actually!

He said, to my utter shock, “I have not drunk a drop of water since 50 years--except what is contained naturally in food items!”

Imagine! Fifty years without drinking even a single drop of water!!

He also added that some of his friends too, were like him—no water has touched their lips! And, by the way, this man has the habit of consuming at least 50 grams of ghee each day!

Here was I, before meeting this gentleman, thinking I had one clear answer for Wellness! And now?

HELP! My only point of clarity has been smashed to smithereens by Destiny.

I came home feeling that I am back to square one. A very powerful thought flashed across my mind.

“God takes extreme care in creating each one of us unique—whereas we spend our lifetime comparing ourselves with others or the other way about!”

I now understood what this actually meant. The first truth about Wellness dawned on me. 

“Wellness is personal.”

Wellness may exist when we do something or not do something, when we think something or not think something, when we feel something or not feel something. Whatever be it, what leads one person attain Wellness could very well lead another lose it totally!!

“One man’s food is another man’s poison” How true!

I got a firm grip on the starting point for gaining Wellness.

Know yourself (body-mind-senses constitution), than compare/wonder about others!

(... to be continued)