In one of my previous articles, I mentioned the concept of the human being. I said the human being is a spirit who lives in a body and has a soul. Today I want to further explain the definition of this concept to ensure that you build a solid wellness relationship with yourself in order to maintain a happy, healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.
Remember, where purpose is not known abuse is inevitable. Therefore I want us to grasp the identity of a human being and use that to further establish whom we are in order to know what to do with ourselves and how.
Now let’s begin with the spirit: The English word spirit is derived from the Latin word spiritus which means “breath”. The word spirit has many different meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance either contrasted with or given ontological priority over the material body. The word spirit is often used metaphysically to refer to the consciousness or personality. (Francois 2008, p.187-197.) We are nothing without our “breath” and therefore our spirit is our core, our very existence.
Now let’s move on to the soul: The soul is the principle of life; feeling; thought and actions in humans. It is a person’s emotional or moral nature. The soul is a place for our mind; our will; emotions; senses. A place where the “I feel, I think, I see, taste etc…” exist.
The soul is a significant part of the human being because it carries our emotions and our mind and we cannot speak of wellness without evaluating the state of our mind or emotions. Our mind and emotions influence our actions to a great extent such that ignoring the vitality of our soul could defeat our goal of living a happy, healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. It is impossible to live a fulfilled life without the good health of your soul.
Your body is your structure. It houses your spirit and your soul. We need our bodies to help us express the functions of the soul and to demonstrate the spirit. We need our bodies to carry out our daily activities and to convey our purpose here on earth.
From the above, we should by now have come to the understanding that every part is vital and therefore we need to treat the human being holistically. For so many years I personally failed to keep a balance. I would have situations where I focused much on my physical health neglecting my spiritual life and my soul. I then moved on to feeding my soul through my love for reading and research and just engaging great minds really but started to neglect my physical health.
I went back and forth for a while until I caught my rhythm. It is hard work, especially in the beginning and even after getting it right it takes discipline to maintain the rhythm. It is not a very obvious thing to do (the balance that is) and yet it is so crucial to our benefit otherwise we stand to have unattended parts of us to our detriment. It is therefore imperative that we learn to nurture “all” of us: our spirit, soul and body in order to enjoy a fulfilling life. It is possible, make an effort and before you know it, it will be habitual and a part of your lifestyle. Get to know you, in order to enjoy you.
