In celebration of the New Year, the Community Life team has freshened the look and content of our monthly e-newsletter, “Experience Life at Eastmark.”

In addition, we are launching an essay series that explores topics intended to help us all experience a more mindful, present, and connected life in the year to come. 

For January’s edition, Community Engagement Manager Kimberly Crowther Miller shares her perspective on what it means to be healthy.

Expand your vision for healthy New Year resolutions

It’s the time of year when health is top of mind, especially for those of us who make New Year’s resolutions. After all, we’ve heard the saying “if you have your health, you have everything.”

It’s a catchy idiom, but what does it really mean?

As I reflected on the saying, it occurred to me that its meaning depends on what specifically is healthy, and what exactly is everything? If “healthy” is referring simply to the condition of the body, and if “everything” literally means all that there is–a totality –then the notion seems trite. But if we apply the concept of health to all areas of our lives, and more clearly define what “everything” means to us, then it has more merit.

For example, how healthy is your mind? What kind of internal messages do you send to yourself? Are they helpful and kind? What would you gain if you had a more healthy dialogue with yourself? Would you feel more at ease, more grateful, or more confident?

How healthy are your relationships? What would be the outcome if you were to be more loving and supportive to those you care about most? Would a stagnant friendship be rejuvenated if you made plans to meet up for happy hour?

How healthy is your community? Do you know your neighbors and lend a helping hand in their time of need? Do you offer a friendly hello or wave to passersby on the street?

Striving for a healthy way of life goes beyond the numbers on a scale or trying the latest fitness craze. It’s about looking at the whole picture and making sure everything that matters to you is in it.

How are you going to make your life healthier in 2015?

Other articles in this series:
January:  Welcome to a Bright New Year
February:  Passion & Possibility
March:  Curiosity & Creativity
April:  Turn Your Passion into Action
May:  Words of Wisdom
June:  Always There
July:  Pass the Ketchup, Please
August:  The Moment of Truth
September:  Being an Adult is Overrated
October:  Why we Fall in Love with Autumn in Arizona
November:  Practicing Gratitude
December: ‘Tis the Season for Magic