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“An unexamined life is not worth living” was first uttered by Socrates and then written down and published by Plato. It seems especially important to reflect on our lives in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. For a moment, all the world stopped for the sake of our and other’s health. Could that be motivation enough for us all to change how we approach our lives moving forward?
It would be rather disheartening to think that, after being visited by death in such a profound way, we would just go back to our old ways. I’d hope that we can all find meaning in all that has happened so that it could serve as a collective motivation to make both ourselves and our society better.
As some countries prepare to ease the coronavirus restrictions, it is important to ask what we are stepping (back) into. In an unprecedented way, the world decided that life is important enough to pause it all. During this pause, I wondered why we didn’t pause before: For starving children? For people and children of Aleppo? For countless other worthy causes?
What kind of world do we want to step back into? Will it be the world with the same consumerist, oppressive tendencies or will it be a more humane, constructive, supportive world? How can we find meaning in all that has happened and is still happening?
Radical Commitment to Health
We always knew that “health is the most important thing,” but, if we are honest, it would get lost in our daily hustle, and would often get buried under a pile of work-related and family stressors. In other words, health was the most important thing in theory, but in practice, it was an optional task we would tend to only when we could “find time.”
In the final analysis, health is the most important thing, and it ought to be so in both practice and theory. If the COVID-19 crisis taught us anything, it would be the importance of keeping ourselves as healthy and as free of “underlying health conditions” as much as possible. Healthy behaviors such as a healthy diet and regular exercise are simple solutions to keeping a healthy weight and lowering the risk of developing cardiovascular disorder and diabetes.
Why “radical commitment” to health? I intend to sound dramatic here – if health is the most important thing than we really need to be committed to it. What this translates into is having dedicated time for physical exercise at least 30 minutes, 4 days per week. It means that if I have carved out time for a brisk walk, a run, or a bike ride every day at 5 p.m. I do so regardless of what “comes up” (medical emergencies being an exception, of course). It’s likely that this type of commitment will be met with some resistance from your familial, social and professional circles, but you must persist and stay radically committed to your health behavior task.
I would hope that the COVID-19 crisis leaves a legacy of the importance of health and all it entails: healthy diets, daily exercise, spiritual and social wellness. Yes, it requires time, but if time is spent on things that we value, such as health, then it will be time well spent. Both immediate and long-term benefits of physical exercise and a healthy lifestyle will help you sustain your motivation and maintain your health behaviors.
Wellness
In addition to physical health, we need to tend to our spiritual and social well-being. Social distancing reminds us of the fact that we are very much social animals. We need each other, but we also need each other in supportive and constructive ways. Achieving social well-being will require us to be engaged with our communities and neighborhoods. This can also be an opportunity to find meaning and greater spiritual fulfillment as our service to community and neighborhood also provides us with a sense of belonging and even spiritual fulfillment.
I understand that change is not easy. I understand that change doesn’t happen overnight. But I do know that change always starts one individual at a time. If we can find strength and determination to change and improve our lives, it is certain that our neighborhoods and communities will change for the better too. If the only change between now and the next week ends up being your neighbors noticing you jog every day, then that is a significant life change — and could even be the start of something bigger.
