song for theme #28B: Healthy Orientation

“Good Health” by Stephen P. Cook

to be sung to the tune of “Your Song” by Bernie Taupin / Elton John 

Growing up Dad¹ would say at times he saw fit

Son, you get one body—so take care of it!

Didn’t think much on this ‘til I got real sick

Then oh my God help me—get me well quick!

As adult I took charge and learned to say no

To smoking and junk food and give healthy a go

Healthy food, water, and air—they mean much to me

And from pollution and stress I want to be free

So hey there everybody, “I’m in good health”

A simple fact—but gimme it over great wealth

I don’t do pain well, I don’t do pain well:

So I live like I should

It’s wonderful, life² is, when my body feels good!

So pardon my joy at eating tasty whole food

Like apples or broccoli³ that brightens my mood

And after whole grain breakfast if I go and run

Forgive me again—with exercise I have fun⁴!

But my active lifestyle includes something more

As medicine advances, I work to keep score⁵

Adopting best practices and checking feedback

So my long-term health stays right on track

So hey there everybody, “I’m in good health”

A simple fact—but gimme it over great wealth

I don’t do pain well, I don’t do pain well:

So I live like I should

It’s wonderful, life is, when my body feels good

SONG—NOTES / COMMENTS     (this song is part of the author’s personal story)

1—This is a semi autobiographical song. The author’s dad died in 2007 at nearly ninety two years old.

2—The classic 1946 movie It’s A Wonderful Life gets at something that’s critically important to the long-term maintenance of

      good health: having friends and people who care about you. Seems this is part of having a meaningful life—a reason to live. 

      More generally doctors increasingly recognize the importance of the mind-body connection to good health. If the contents of

      one’s mind are unhealthy (anxiety-ridden, negative, full of blame, etc) it can literally make the body sick, or interfere with

      healing.  Similarly, psychological health, reducing stress, being upbeat, feeling loved, or having expectations can be linked to

      maintaining or regaining physical health.  To underscore the importance of feeling loved / not being lonely, Dr. Dean Ornish

      writes, "I'm not aware of any other factor in medicine–not diet, not smoking, not exercise, not genetics, not drugs, not surgery–

     that has a greater impact on our quality of life, incidence of illness and premature death."   

3—Despite President George H. W. Bush’s putdown of it, broccoli is both tasty and a super health food!

4—Running can be a great time to think; other sports can be great fun precisely because to succeed at them requires totally

      abandoning all thinking and simply relying on the skills your body has learned.

5—For example, in the roughly five years between the writing of The Worldview Literacy Book and this book, research findings

      suggest a link between the progression of mind-robbing conditions like dementia / Alzheimer’s disease and intake of sugar

      (specifically blood glucose level). Some, including the author, in response to books like The Grain Brain, have made dietary

      adjustments in carbohydrate consumption.

 Comment: this theme has value as emotional armor. Fear of future illness can be replaced by the feeling that you’re doing what you can to protect yourself from that as this song suggests. And from a psychological / physiological coping mechanism perspective, taking care of yourself with good nutrition, exercising, getting plenty of sleep, readies you for the next (often unexpected) time stress threatens, or you’ve suffering the pain  of loss. Given mind / body connections, being emotionally distressed take can lead to physical illness or worse.