Wellbeing

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

UNDER the current circumstances, and having very little influence on the macro level, people are focusing more on their personal wellbeing. Conversations are shifting towards maintaining a healthy mind and body and achieving happiness. Before, young professionals were focused on losing weight, toning muscles and losing abdominal fat. It used to be that they regularly go to the gyms for physical fitness, but now with the risk of catching COVID-19 in these public places, people are finding ways to achieve not only physical fitness, but holistic health and total wellbeing in alternative places. Personal goals are also being redefined and fine-tuned in consideration of the realities of the times.

Wellbeing is closely associated with the ultimate goal of happiness. It could be said therefore that when you are happy, you are well. However, happiness is subjective so there is no hard and fast barometer as to when, how and on what terms this is achieved.

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, his philosophical work on the ‘science of happiness’, we are introduced to the concept of Eudaimonia. According to Deci and Ryan (2006), “Eudaimonia is about individual happiness” and that:

“…well-being is not so much an outcome or end state as it is a process of fulfilling or realizing one’s daimon or true nature—that is, of fulfilling one’s virtuous potentials and living as one was inherently intended to live.”

Aristotle states his concept of happiness and wellbeing:

 “…Some identify happiness with virtue, some with practical wisdom, others with a kind of philosophic wisdom, others with these, or one of these, accompanied by pleasure or not without pleasure; while others include also external prosperity…it is not probable that…these should be entirely mistaken, but rather that they should be right in at least some one respect or even in most respects.”

Indeed, if there is one good thing that COVID-19 has turned around significantly, it is the way it has made us realize our priorities and to redirect our energies to achieving happiness. It forces itself into our consciousness, whether we like it or not. Suddenly, we are painfully aware that death can claim us anytime and that we must take stock of whatever remaining life we have.

For example, I have never seen so many creative endeavors on the internet, most of them attempting to sell to survive or take the opportunity in the market. Others are just simply creating to honor their artistic gifts, like a friend, Girlie Villariba, who has painted so many birds in flight, inspiring others to take their talents seriously and honor themselves. “Fly!” is the creative mantra that drives this prolific woman.

Another friend, Fe Mangahas made a commitment to a lifestyle choice of brisk walking daily, maintaining social interaction with members of the Church Café Bible study group, and calling me regularly to discuss how we can make money, and more importantly, to laugh at ourselves.

As for me, I promised to carry seeds with me all the time and scatter them on vacant lots, do at least 8,000 steps daily, read a new book each week, and strengthen the connections with people with whom I can grow emotionally, intellectually and develop further skills to experience and approach life with realism and magic.

For many, the operative word for wellbeing is balance. For some, ultimate happiness is attempting to touch a wildflower growing in between crevices on a steep cliff, where the balancing act is the decisive factor whether one falls down breaking into pieces or anchors both feet on a safe space.

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