THE TWO PRIMARY WANTS

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 17, 20 July 1921, Page 4

THE TWO PRIMARY WANTS

HEALTH AND HAPPINESS

(Contributed by the New Zealand Wel-

fare League.)

It is right that the Welfare League should discuss the question of -"Health and Happiness," as there'is nothing more closely. related to human welfare than a well-sustained' supply of these essentials. In the. strife and turmoil of to-day but little attention is giyen to health. ' The doctor is visited, or visits us, when we have contracted some illness ov disease. How seldom do we consult the Hloctor as to how we can maintain good health, and avoid the attacks which all know are ever imminent. "Prevention is better than cure" is glibly uttered, but prevention is only possible by the cultivation of right habits of living. Here is where our indolence, vanity, and unreason trip us up; each is inclined to think that they are the exception. Pay attention to your health. Oh ! no, we do not mean to worry about it. Unhealthy thinking about ourselves won't help any. The individual whose mind is troubled with every slightest indisposition of the body is not attending to health but merely hunting for symptoms of disease. "A healthy mind in a healthy body" is the ideal to keep before us: It is a simple fact that the mind and body act and react ori each other. The mind and body are not mere neighbours, they live in the same house, and for the good of both each must sustain and serve the other.

To commence with,, man is an animal. That by neglect our manhood may become a very poor kind of animal from the health standpoint was demonstrated by the great proportion of "medically unfits" discovered on the examination of our young men for war service. Recently, Dr. Truby King -in lecturing at a public meeting on the subject of health preservation stressed the point that in regard to the young the first thing to ensure was the making of a healthy animal. That foundation he found to be essential. It. is a question whether, in our enthusiasm for education, we do not mix too many "ologies" with our children's food and games, thereby /mortgaging their health ' stock for the future. Sometimes it appears that our civilised idea of health is nothing higher than the negative side of disease. To savour the real thing in the way of physical welfare one must be close to nature. To throw the flap of our tent on one side and step outside, filling our lungs with fresh, clear air and feeling the tingle of the early morning sharpness which is followed by the coursing of our . warm blood, like a draught of rich wine pouring through every vein; such is when we know real health. Those who have experienced the fulness of it will tell you that they do not think of their health but just enjoy it. Thus is realised that health and happiness which are very closely related. When the-American drummer (commercial traveller) goes out on-the road, he sells to smile and smiles to Sell, but which comes first he cannot well tell. Such, also, is the connection - between health and happiness.

■ The.-Health Authorities say we have a low death-rate in New Zealand. Is it the case that New Zealand has a high' health standard? On the average, are our people possessed of greater immunity from diseases,than those of other lands? What is our standing as regards frequency of attacks of various common maladies, the duration and intensity of. such? These are all questions we might have fuller' public information on. As. health is a great' national asset our people might, with advantage, be instructed by public charts and otherwise on the best means of health preservation. A chart of health zones for' the Dominion ought to be available. As laymen we can but touch lightly on these matters. , The simple rules of hygiene in relation to workshops, warehouses, shops, offices, and work places in general may be thought to- be mat-, ters for the Health Department, but onr conviction is that all are interested, and employers and operatives must', see to the practice of health rules. " Not in any mood of pessimism, .or with any disposition to grouch, but to carefully set abont making improvement is the course wanted. In a Dominion such as ours, with such splendid natural resources and great opportunities, our people ought to be of the very healthiest and happiest on. earth. ..Attention! that's all. It is well .worth trying for individually and collectively. Health, happiness and the general welfare is a programme that all can endorse.