Recently while in the Amazon River region, I was
asked: what do you do keep yourself healthy?
There are Medical and Anthropological answer to
this question and surprisingly enough, they do not coincide!
The Doctor would say:
Do not become Overweight, defined as 23 kg/M2 in
people of Asian Ancestry (weight in Kg divided by Height in Metres squared)
Do not smoke
Eat Healthily (Most Health Care providers are
notoriously ignorant of Nutrition)
Exercise regularly.
Some even may murmur about Positive Attitude
towards Life.
An Anthropologist would say:
Be Grateful for the things you have
Practice Mindfulness. Enjoy the present moment
fully, do not long for the past or worry about the future
Be a humble person
Health and Happiness cannot be separated. That
may be the reason why happy people tend to do well when they are ill and
recover quicker than less than happy people
Remember what the great American Philosopher once
said:
Look at all these people, trying to stave off the
inevitable decay of their bodies. (Woody
Allen in Hannah and her sisters)
Why don’t the joggers ever smile?
I said Good Morning to every single Health
Conscious Chinese/Indian/Malay joggers along the path in Malacca, Malaysia and
not a single one returned the smile or the greeting! As my good friend Joe
would say: A smile is a must, even if you are exercising to stave off that
inevitable decay?
I have never exercised in a Gym but have walked
plenty along the Amazon River, for me the latter leads to Happiness and Health!
WELCOME TO AMAZONIA!
