By Veronica & Maureen

What is health? Back in the mid-20^th century, after the world was recovering from a worldwide economic depression and the second world war, the World Health Organization adopted a definition of health that it has kept to this day:  Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. (WHO, 1948)

What we like about the WHO’s definition is “state of complete” because, to us, it means health is holistic, it is internal and external, and it can be measured in many ways. As the WHO notes, health is not measured by “absence of disease or infirmity.” The measure of health is the opposite of that. It means what is in your heart – how you feel emotionally and spiritually – is as important as how well your heart beats. Well-being extends past our individual health into our environment and beyond. Health is measured within what we have chosen to label “indiCoSots,” the connected, interactive entity of individuals, communities and societies.

The WHO’s definition of health has been criticized for setting unrealistic standards, and in essence measuring happiness, not health. But we think feeling happy is perhaps the most important health measurement of all. Don’t worry – we won’t be invoking the lyrics to “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”  Like happiness, health isn’t a place to “be.” Rather, it’s a process, a pathway in life So maybe the words to our theme song would be “what to do-do-do” to get healthy, with some dah-dah-dah’s mixed in.