Welcome back to another blog post by unpaid carer Matthew Mckenzie. I am happy to have been able to write up some posts, despite being fairly busy. I want to put a thought in your head, I know in this society, we do not often have time to stop and reflect. Living in this fast paced life it is so important to stop and think ever now again.
The thought I want to put into your head is this. “Have you thought about where you live”? Is it in the city or suburbs? Maybe a village or town. Perhaps this is not even a deep thought when you step back and observe, but it does not end there. When you look around, what do you see? Are those around the area as busy as you are? Or perhaps do they seem to be more relaxed? Maybe they are letting the world go by.
Embed from Getty ImagesNow think about your health and wellbeing, are you lucky to have good health? It is not as easy as everyone thinks, because we are so busy, it is hard to find the time to eat well, exercise or even get a good nights sleep. We all know what happens if we cannot look after our health and wellbeing, but if you are curious then I will explain later.
Being Alive
If you are unfortunate enough not to had the time to stop and reflect then let me put another thought in your head. Do you know that you are alive? Seems weird doesn’t it. Of course you are alive otherwise you would not be reading this right now. Still, its amazing when you really think about it. Your heart is pumping blood around your body, you are able to see the words of the screen and now think about how you are breathing. Thats it!! you are reflecting on your health. It is one of philosophy’s ways of getting people to stop and think. Sometimes we are pressured into doing so much, that when the time has come, we begin to query where our life has gone. We are so focused in keeping up with the rat race (to mildly put it) that we have not stopped to marvel at our health.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt does not end there though. So you realized you are alive, brilliant! but what about everyone else in your area or community? Are you wondering if they are thinking the same? About their health and wellbeing? Does it look like health and wellbeing is doing well in your area? Perhaps do to the town centre, what do you see? Does the area look healthy?
Being alive has its responsibilities
Being alive does have its responsibilities. We must try to be aware that every decision we take affects our health. To be a healthy person, you have to make healthy choices. Sometimes we have the information and power to follow up on those choices, but its not the same for everyone. Depending where you live, you might not get all the options to decide how healthy you will be. A community is only as healthy as much as it is supported to do so.
Still, because of community, we all have a part to play. If one person makes the choice for a healthy life, then others can learn and follow. Especially if they observe what we all have in common. Being part of a community means we have something in common, we often have to share things and express our identity. What one person does in the community usually affects the community some how. If the trend in the community focuses on healthy lifestyles then it will influence more in that community.
Welcome to another blog post from Matthew Mckenzie a carer over in South London. On this blog I want to talk about activism. When you think of mental health problems or those who might be vulnerable due to capacity issues then human rights is not far behind. The way how society treats those suffering mental health issues can speak volumes. Mental health affects us all, that being caregivers or carers, mental health survivors and society at large.
