Entering the Longest Month: Examining Wellness

I'm both disturbed and perturbed greatly about just how much these past few long weeks of idleness and illness have seemed to weaken me. I went running yesterday, the first time since the new year began. Through doing that, I discovered that I'm not 100% recovered from this stupid respiratory bug. My lungs and legs were totally trashed; even the steam bath afterward felt like it was killing me, and I'm still smarting from it all today. It's a shame too, because the nicer weather today would have made for a great day of skiing. As it is though, my current condition dictates that I need to use more time yet to sit still, rest, and heal. I may trek out to visit a bookstore, or the library, or stop for a tall pint somewhere later. But for now, being planted on my chesterfield, with my laptop and the remote control, a pile of books/other reading, some language learning apps, is about as exciting as this lazy Sunday morning is becoming so far. Ella has burrowed herself under my comforter and is snoozing beside me as I write. It's like she already knows that we're not going to be destined for a lot of activity today.

The 2013 Health and Wellness Expo is at Prairieland Park this afternoon. It's close and easily accessible; I could explore that. However, I don't feel like it's worth paying the high admission price for the short amount of time that I would be spending there though because, ironically, I don't feel well/energetic enough to hang around there all day. Noting this paradox pretty much sums up how depressed and under the weather I feel.

"We all believe silly things. What matters is how silly and how many." - Guy P. Harrison, author of the book, 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True.

I also reminded myself that, just like any other trade show, it was more of a nucleus for marketing than for the vendors having real interest for actual "wellness", which made me all the more willing to avoid it. There are some honest, innovative, and practical prevention health oriented vendors and promoters set up there; but I think they are few amongst a whole lot of charlatans there as well trying to pitch their equivalent of snake oil, and other stuff that fits into the realm of pseudo-science and medical quackery. I was in no mood today to be further jaded; overtaxing my already highly skeptical attitude, or wasting any time being on alert status red for exercising caveat emptor in determining which of them were legit.

If I had the time and liberty to throw myself back into the role of a researcher, one thing that might be interesting to do with the people who come to such an event is to present a survey question for everyone to answer. The question would be: "What is your idea/definition of "wellness?" I'm sure the responses would be really varied, but also interesting. Wellness, for me, is a really vague term that I can't assign any one meaning to. All I know is that I seem to have a hell of a hard time trying to find it during the month of February: another reason that some of the answers might shock me seeing that this event is held at this time of the year, during the month that should be designated as National Depression Awareness month here in Canada.

I'd still love to hear answers to that topic question, I welcome listening/reading any that people have to offer.