The Surgeon General

I had the privilege of seeing and hearing Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., M.B.A., our 19th Surgeon General of the United States speak on March 3rd.  For me, it was like waiting in line for my favorite sold out concert.  It actually was sold out, I begged for tickets and that didn’t work.  Then I found out I could go early and wait, while I hoped there would be an extra seat available.  It worked out!  He is America’s doctor, even though many of us thought that was Dr. Oz!  I wanted to share three of his inspiring thoughts with you.   Although this was a lectureship on childhood obesity, the words apply to all of us. 

He said:

•  “Kindness is healing.”   
• We must stop focusing solely on the body, and that we must address the emotional and spiritual aspects as well. 
• We must teach our children that healthy food and exercise is pleasurable and stop making exercise seem like such a chore.  He was talking about modeled behavior.

He is probably the first mind, body, spirit Surgeon General of the United States.  His words bring people together and his thoughts are simple.  I am grateful I was able to be there.

Having our needs met is a necessity.  When our needs are not being met, we sometimes engage in less than healthy behaviors.   We want to be well.  That is to say that being well describes this buzz word “wellness” and wellness is being in a state of wellbeing, and wellbeing is when you are in good emotional and physical health, especially when supported by healthy lifestyle habits, including a healthy diet and exercise.   Mastering your wellbeing takes practice, practice, practice every day.   To master your wellbeing means that you make equally important your sense of purpose, life satisfaction, practice of gratitude, health, diet, and physical activity among other lifestyle habits.

The kindness I see and hear about on a daily basis in America is remarkable.  The media might consider covering more of that.  The kindness I see in our educators with our children, and with our nurses that give of themselves each day to the most vulnerable is heart warming.  I like to focus on the kindness and good in the world.   Many of us are care givers in various degrees.  It might be in the form of nurturing a relationship, or helping a friend in need.  

The big question is, are you caring for yourself and allowing time for you?   We all have the same fundamental needs and buckets to fill.  We are also different from each other and we fill our buckets in different ways and with different things.  Do you know what goes in yours?  If you do, fill them with constructive things.  If you don’t know at the moment, focus on what is working in your life, keep practicing gratitude, spend some quiet time listening, and it will come to you.  Dream big and take a step!  That will fulfill the Surgeon General’s request of focusing on the mind, body and spirit.  It will also fill you up. 

Health Inspires.

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