A word on 'Why'
We’ve covered a lot of ground over the past few months. To what purpose? What is all of this for? The coordinates, the anchors, the climb - what is the point? What’s the endgame?
The endgame is more than just a “good life.” It’s ‘Eudaimonia’, an ancient Greek term that means “Good Fate” and is often given the bland translation “happiness.” A more fitting translation to my mind is Blessedness. Blessedness goes beyond happiness. It’s marked by an abiding sense of fulfillment. Of peace, even amid chaos.
As to fate itself, your fate is more than just the quality of your life; it’s also the quality of your legacy.
Life + Legacy = Fate
Your legacy is what you leave behind. Your name. Your gifts. Your reputation. Your legacy is the echo of your life. You can have a “good” life - at least from a material standpoint - and not a good legacy. You can be prosperous in this life and still end up with a name that suffers in history and a soul that suffers in eternity. The condition of your name and your soul here and hereafter is what constitutes your fate.
Why do all of this? Why seek Wellness? Blessedness? Well or Blessed for what? To what end? To serve. That is, to serve God, God in Christ. Because our life isn’t for ourselves alone. We’re served to serve. We’re blessed to bless. And how can we most clearly serve God? By serving our fellow man. That service becomes the reason to manage our sleep and our diet. It becomes the reason to stay physically and mentally active, to be mindful, intentional, planful, and prepared. To remain connected to and caretakers of nature, to love our neighbors, and to work hard. We do these things in service to God out of love for him. And we serve and love Him because he first loved and served us, not least of all by giving us life.
This is, for me, inescapable. And by this I mean the presence of Christ in my work. He is my foundation. Not only real, but more real than I am. And to set out to discuss a life of true and abiding wellness, let alone a life of blessedness, without reference and deferral to the very author of life is simply not possible.
The effect of this is the effect. For those who are repelled by the name Christ or who hold that one’s “religious life” is somehow separable from the rest of their life - which is of course nonsensical - nothing can be done. I’m not the mouth for those ears. I can only confess the name of Jesus and do my work in acknowledgement of and commitment to Him.
I’ve long been walking a labyrinth in search of myself and my purpose, and after a long and circuitous path filled with detours and dead ends, I’ve finally begun to find it. What was needed was need was not only a destination, but also a compass. Not only a what and a why, but also a how. By God’s grace, I seem to have those elements now in hand; I have a compass, a map, and a manifesto. My proximate “why” is that I believe healthy people help people and unhealthy people hurt people. The healthier, the more well, I can help people to become, the more love, light, and life are spread. My ultimate “why” service to God in Christ, in this age and in the age to come.
That’s not to say that I’ve reached the top of my own mountain. I haven’t; not even close. In a way, I’ve only just begun to climb. My journey up to recent has been more subterranean. But now I have a sense that I’ve reached the surface and am climbing the mountain’s face. Still, I’ve tread a far portion of ground and have things of value to share.
None of this is a finished product. Nor am I. This is as much of a living process as I am a living person. There was a time when that being the case would’ve been cause for hesitation. Now I find it exciting. The primary tools have been forged. The essentials are in hand. Now it’s a matter of experimenting with all of the ways they can be applied, seeing what needs to be added, and what can be taken away.
That’s not a lack of preparedness, that’s life. We engage, we adapt, and - by Christ - we overcome.
That’s the path forward: It’s onward and upward. For Him, in Him, with Him, by Him, together.
Until next time.
- Remy