HOW TO LIVE HOLISTIC IN UN-HOLISTIC WORLD?
TAKE CHARGE OF OWN HEALTH
Without a doubt, we are in times when modernization has supposedly made living conditions better for people. Does it truly make living better conditions better? With health care systems attending to health problems with curative solutions rather than preventive measures and have relegated care to the backseat when administering medicine. What about modern agricultural practices that threaten our health by producing foods that have traces of harmful pesticides and other agrochemicals?
Considering this discussion from the perspective of holistic health, it is pertinent to also consider how our emotions and minds fare generally in today’s modern world. That is because holistic living doesn’t only deal with the physical body but also the mind, emotions, and spirit and their inter-relationship for optimum health.¹
That said, mainstream entertainment in modern times cannot be said to be anything good for a healthy mind. Nudity is being idolized, illicit violence is being projected and the use of foul language is normalized!
So, in today’s modern world where almost everything seems to oppose the concept of holistic living, is holistic living still possible? The discovery awaiting you will provide an answer, kindly read on.
“TO ENJOY THE GLOW OF A GOOD LIFE, ONE MUST LIVE A HEALTHY LIFE.”
AREAS WHERE HOLISTIC LIVING WOULD HABE BEEN BETTER
Holistic living remains a better option to living fulfilled lives but certain aspects of people’s lives are negatively affected because they chose the throes of modernization instead. Let us consider them quickly.
LIFESTYLE CHOICES
The number of modern diseases is on the increase which can be traced to modern lifestyle choices such as reduced physical activities, junk food, inadequate sleep, consumption of alcoholic substances, exposure to ‘unhealthy entertainment’, Social Media and other addictions, excessive use of pills and the list continues.
These modern choices have been trailed with health and mind problems such as cancer, cirrhosis, depression, heart disease, kidney failure, vascular dementia, stroke, arthritis, and dementia among others.²
Sadly, these diseases caused by lifestyle tend to only grow worse as patients age unless they adjust their lifestyles, that is, to take on a holistic approach to living.³ This involves having adequate sleep and reduced intake of foods that trigger inflammation of organs.⁴ Abstinence from alcohol and illicit drug use, and also the inclusion of undertaking moderate exercises weekly.⁵
AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES
Agriculture, as we know it today, differs in many ways from the ideology of holistic living which favors the employment of nature in the treatment and preservation of nature (our lives).
In modern times, many unnatural means are being employed to boost agricultural production such as the use of inorganic fertilizers, defoliators containing traces of heavy metals, pesticides, genetic engineering, steroid-laced animal feeds, etc. That is not to mention the overexploitation of water and land resources, eutrophication of water bodies from fertilized water runoffs from farmlands, pest resistance to pesticides, and increase in soil salinity caused by modern agricultural methods.⁶
Our environments have not only been degraded and soil nutrients depleted, but humans have also had to deal with the weakened immune system, skin, and eye irritation, respiratory diseases, miscarriages, and cancer.⁷
However, there are healthier alternatives which organic agriculture takes the foremost place. With purely organic agriculture, one can be optimistic about consuming healthy agricultural products without dreading these diseases.
EXCESSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA USE
Holistic living considers health from a perspective of wholeness; physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. For this reason, we cannot ignore the effect of modern entertainment and social media which is the craze of the modern-day on our mental health and emotional health. For instance, frequent users of Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are reported to have high-stress levels with the average social media user having a shorter attention span⁸. Depression and unruliness are consistent traits of social media addicts.
However, John Hall of Lifehack showed that with the use of healthy distractions which could be adventures, book reading, meditation, exercise, or volunteering, one can have a healthier mind, sleep better, increase productivity and reduce the chances of getting depressed. Other ways one can achieve these positive effects of abstinence from social media include putting off ‘push notification’ and simply uninstalling the apps.⁹
MEDICAL PRACTICE
Dr. Aseem Malhotra puts it right when he said “you can’t drug people into being healthier.” However, modern medicine in today’s world prioritizes physical healing through prescriptions and drugs over the use of more natural, more patient involving means of healing.¹⁰ When a patient is involved in his healing, we can hope that not only is the body cured but the soul is taken care of as well.
Holistic healing methods, though ancient in origin, are still very much around. These holistic approaches to healing are not just more efficient in administering cure with care; they also promote a ‘preventive’ form of medicine by altering a patient’s lifestyle choices which may have been responsible for the disease.
IS HOLISTIC LIVING POSSIBLE IN TODAY’S WORLD?
You have seen several aspects of our everyday life where modernization seems to be the dominant approach. While many people cannot do without the ease, comfort, reduced drudgery, and speed, they really wish to do without the consequences of modern living like heart problems from physical inactivity, respiratory disorders, cancer, a dysfunctional Musco-skeletal system in children, and skin irritation from exposure to agrochemicals, etc.
Interestingly, the modern approach to living devoid of a holistic lifestyle cannot be mutually exclusive of these problems. This brings us to the question of whether holistic living is possible in today’s modern world.
Well, a closer look at what I shared with you regarding how holistic living would have been a better approach to life in the subsection above, you would see that every remedy to the menace of modernization is not a far-fetched reality. They are holistic habits, choices, and methods that can be practiced in these modern times. That is to say, holistic living isn’t only possible in modern times; it is the best approach yet to living!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Holistic living puts your well-being the foremost, ensuring that your health is preserved in all aspects; physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Those who know me personally, have worked with me, subscribed to my healing recommendations, or have been mentored by me can attest to the way of life, quality of life, and the living standards I both preach and practice. Not only is it possible to live holistically in a madly non-holistic world, but you can very much have the best of all words without sacrificing any. That is, of course, as long as you are always mindful that material only belongs in your pocket and hand and never in your heart. And as long as you connect with your own self and soul much more than you would waste on attaching to your “influencer”. Whatever and whoever that influencer is; social, political, entertainer, idol, or anything “un-holistic”.
In my book, Lead A Horse To Water, you will get deeper insights and practical ways to gift yourself a life of complete wellness in such health-threatening times as these modern days. At Holistic Live Younger, we believe that you can achieve a life where your body revels in vitality, your mind, and emotions in happiness and fulfillment, while your spirit enjoys tranquility.
In the very conclusion of Lead A Horse To Water, I could not find more expressive words to sum it all up:
“Be KIND to yourself, and others.
Live a LIFE worth living.
TOGETHER, LET’S ALL LIVE FOREVER YOUNG”
Bibliography
- Sakr, N. (2021). “Lead A Horse To Water.” pp. 8.
- “Lifestyle Disease.” Wikipedia. URL: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle_disease
- Engelen, Lina; Gale, Joanne; Chau, Josephine Y.; Hardy, Louisse L.; Mackey, Martin; Johnson, Nathan; Shirley, Debra; Bauman, Adrian (2017). “Who is at risk of chronic disease? Associations between risk profiles of physical activity, sitting and cardio-metabolic disease in Australian adults.” Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 41 (2): 178 – 183. doi:10.1111/1753-6405.12627. PMID 27960249. S2CID 34368321. ProQuest 2290216359.
- Sakr, N. (2021). “Lead A Horse To Water.” pp. 12
- “Lifestyle factors (AIHW). Aihw.gov.au. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
- Swaminathan, M.S. (2006) “An Evergreen Revolution.” Crop Sci. 46, 2294 – 2303.
- Kirkhorn, Steven; Schenker, Marc B. (2001). “Human Health Effects of Agriculture.” Immanuel St. Joseph’s-Mayo Health System. URL: https://nasdonline.org/1827/d001772/human-health-effects-of-agriculture-physical-diseases-and.html
- Lainie Petersen (2019). “The Negative Effect of Social Media on Society and Individuals.” Chron. URL: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/negative-effect-social-media-society-individuals-27617.html
- John Hall. “How to Quit Social Media for a Happier and More Focused Life.” Lifehack. URL: https://www.lifehack.org/846374/quitting-social-media
- Aseem Malhotra (2018). “Why modern medicine is a major threat to public health.” The Guardian. URL:https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/30/modern-medicine-major-threat-public-health