I have often written that, in my opinion, general physical strength is the foundation of health. Strength gives us the ability to move our bodies and have some level of control over our environment. With it, we are able to condition our hearts, muscles, and bones and stave off disease. We are also motivated to eat nutritious food, achieve deeper sleep, and manage our stress better.
In this article, I wanted to explore the umbrella term well-being. For the purposes of this article, I will use well-being in a broader sense that encompasses physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual health. I would also like to propose that if strength is the foundation of health, then spirituality is the foundation of well-being.
In an interview with Annastiina Hintsa, CEO of Hintsa Performance, Emanuele Capobianco, Chief Strategy & Impact Officer at the World Health Organization Foundation, discussed his views on well-being and spirituality. “When it comes to health, a Latin phrase comes to mind: Mens sana in corpore sano — ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body.’ Similarly, the World Health Organization talks about health not just as the absence of diseases but as a state of physical, mental, and social well-being. I’d like to add a fourth element here, which is spiritual health.
“I always considered physical health to sit at the bottom of a pyramid in that everything surrounding your health begins with the physical side. Upon this, you can then build your mental health, and the social element, too — with spiritual health being the cherry on the top. But after a major injury recently that required two years of rehabilitation, I realized that your spiritual health is not just the cherry but can be the foundation for that pyramid. Investing in yourself on that spiritual level is critical; it is not an afterthought, and I think everyone should be looking at that more than we probably do in the Western world.”
Whether we call this concept faith or a belief in something greater than ourselves, it seems that a strong sense of spirituality is essential for mental and physical healing, recovery, or simply getting us through difficult, sometimes critical, moments in life. Wanting the opinion of someone that I personally know is well-versed in the topic of spirituality, I reached out to Pastor Max Furman of the Antes Fort and Oriole Methodist Churches. Pastor Furman also happens to be a retired military chaplain (LTC) with 24 years of service.
“The military is probably the most diverse body of people we have in our nation in regard to ethnicity or race or faith. It is a true melting pot. As a National Guard chaplain, my responsibility was to help to meet the spiritual needs of each of the individuals in my unit,” said Pastor Furman. “During my service time, I had the opportunity to serve in a humanitarian effort, peacekeeping missions, and a combat mission. Of course, each of those missions presented various challenges for my brothers and sisters in uniform. Although the military strives to meet each individual’s spiritual needs, the unit chaplain is often the primary and, of course, closest resource, no matter the faith walks.
“My own spiritual journey has enabled me to more than endure some very traumatic times. Although my faith walk is Christian and, of course, with its strong convictions surrounding that, I have seen people of other faiths experience the needed support. I have prayed with people of other faiths. I have witnessed what their faith walk brought to them. Having the concept of a Being greater than oneself can and does bring comfort, strength, peace. During my ministry, I observed that those with a spiritual connection handled and processed the challenges they faced more easily. Spirituality provides more than a crutch; it provides a path to walk.”
One does not need to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or chief officer of a global health organization to understand that spirituality is critical to well-being. Whether you view spirituality as something to be organized into a religion or simply a set of beliefs, there is no denying that we are more than just flesh and bone. Spirituality is how we connect with each other and draw strength to weather stressful times. It allows us to experience true joy during the good times and recognize the value of gratitude. While I have, and always will, write about the benefits of nourishing body and mind, we must first nourish the soul.
