Saturday, March 31, 2007

Definition of "healthy"

This morning I read a news that the legendary Indonesian pop singer, Chrisye, has passed away due to his lung cancer.

Suddenly while thinking about it....a question popped up in my mind. What does health or to be healthy actually mean?
I know it is somewhat irrelevant with the news but I'm still in the mood of discussing the term "healthy."
By the end of 30th March 2007, finally I came with some thoughts.

First thought
Would it be enough to be declared "you are a healthy person" when you have no desease and your body is clean from any bacteria?
How about if nothing wrong with your body but your mind is being occupied by stress and problems? would you be still called a healthy person?

If I were in that situation, I wouldn't call myself healthy...and so would people..they would rather calling me crazy, having a mind-sickness. So I think this is not the right definition of being healthy.

Second thought
Would it be enough to say "I am very healthy" with all fullness in my life like I have a lot of money, food, jewelery, or lots of friends around me..so people will call me whealthy (read: wealthy)?
If the answer of that statement is true, then people who don't have money, food, and have none want to be friend with..would they be called the unhealthy ones? Because they maybe sick with their living conditions and start thinking "mylife is suck!!"

I believe at least someday in someone's life, someone will feel lackness in their life...can be anything, lack of money, feeling hungry or starving, or even feeling lonely and left behind as things always come and go...
When I was thinking about these, I was reminded of an old sentence, "you can buy anything in this world but not your health." (I can look for money, buy food, bribe someone to be my friend, but I cannot persuade my sickness to go away from me) So basically this thought of mine is also not right.

Then here is my third thought coming...
I cannot say everyone but most of people wish to be always healthy and lead a good life. Nevertheless I know there are not few people were born with handicaps or they were born with a certain lethal desease(s), which the cures were nowhere to be found and most of them have to life with it for the rest of their life.
Would there be a time or some times in their life, they will be called "a healthy person"?

I was thinking hard to find an answer or anything arguing the question when suddenly a song was being played in my mind...and it goes like this:

Hati yang gembira adalah obat (A joyful heart is good medicine)
sperti obat hati yang senang (it is like happiness medicine)
tapi semangat yang patah keringkan tulang (but a crushed spirit dries up the bones)
hati yang gembira adalah obat ((after all) a joyful heart is good medicine)

Not long after that, something popped up in my mind and said to me, "to be healthy you need yourself in the first place to declare it before anyone does." If it is possible I would say the word "healthy" means "(to) heal-thy(self)" and "thy are healed."

After all "being healthy" is not about your body or your life situation only..........it needs a body, a positive mind, and the most important thing...a joyful heart, a heart that heal thy (read:you).

(proverbs 17:22)