Yesterday, I attended a conference called Building a Healthier Heartland. It was sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services and brought together people from a wide range of our society to begin setting priorities for pursuing wellness in Kansas City. The number one concern addressed was reducing the risk factor of obesity. Discussions involved ways to improve nutrition and physical activity.

The conference reminded me that the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of our health are connected. Good health means having the ability to resist illness and injury. It also means having the capacity to deal with a variety of viruses, stresses, and challenges while still being able to pursue our work, hopes and dreams. Disease and disappointment happen. Grief, injury, and anxiety are part of life. Good health can be measured by how we're able to cope with these and keep moving forward in our lives.

Good spiritual health includes being well grounded -- open to the wisdom of others and the touch of the Spirit without losing our own identity. Spiritual health means having a strong inner immune system - less susceptible to the pressures of others who claim to have al the answers, to know the mind of God impeccably, or who threaten divine judgment and damnation on those who disagree with them. People with good spiritual health are like an immune system for their faith communities as well.

There is a profit to be made from poor health, from people's physical, mental, and emotional illness and fear. There is money to be made as well from people's poor spiritual health and we see this exploited in the media virtually every day. The real value of good health is found in what it means to us and to those we love. This value is realized in our ability to accomplish our portion of God's dream -- transforming the world into the nature of Shalom (peace, wholeness, and connectedness). The more people who are spiritually healthy, the more powerfully and effectively this work can be done and the better life will be for all of us

Spiritual health requires faith:  the ability to trust in God through all things while at the same time trusting that we are vitally important to God's work in the world. The call we have to change the world in partnership with the Spirit requires flexibility, faith, courage, and an ability to admit our mistakes. In short, it requires resilience, respect for others, and a deep regard for the ongoing work of grace taking place in our own lives.  Let's strive for wellness of body, mind, and spirit to do the work we have before us. And let's remember that our ultimate health lies in our oneness with God and each other.

Thanks for continuing to bless me as we journey together.
  
Jack Price

FYI - Jack has published several articles at: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jack_F_Price

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