Letter #10: The Art of Doing Wellness
Getaway Beach in Ko Phangan, Southern Thailand, 2024
Dear Friend
Tropical Islands and 'Progress'
So this week sees me still in Ko Samui, near the end of our family holiday, which has been a rare experience as we span three continents, from Europe to Asia to Australasia!
There have been many highlights, lots of fun, and the wonder of being on a tropical island.
However, for me, a lifelong learner who is always observing the world of humans and their foibles and curious ways, and seeking understanding through the power of reflective thinking, I've found myself reflecting on a few things here on the island of Samui.
I have seen much that gives me more supporting evidence that our human world has gone badly awry and astray.
I haven't been able to put it properly into words yet, to describe and illustrate to you what I mean, but I want to do this.
I will report back to you in next week's Letter, as I've not found the time to do the topic justice this week. Time has rushed on by, and this will be a truncated Letter. I hope you don't mind!
But suffice to say, the theme which I have been reflecting lots on is the 'progress' of our modern human world. I have been comparing the Ko Samui of the early 1990s, and the version of it 30 years later. In doing so I will be entering those 'choppy waters' where older people are seen to be wistfully looking back at the 'good old days', and not adapting or evolving to the new way of life.
My plan is to reflect upon the two versions in our next Letter, and let you be the judge of that! I have found during my life that I've often been a sort of 'canary in the coal mine', warning about things to come, which then do indeed come along, and which are not to the benefit of humankind.
It brings to mind a common, and really important, theme for me in life: that of responsibility. Ideally a human being will be responsible for their own life, and take on collective responsibility towards all other humans and the wellbeing of the whole planet.
But that's not what happens very commonly!
I think what has happened to Ko Samui in the last 30 years encapsulates how modern human life has 'progressed', and want to share with you my observations and reflections. Here's a clue to my thinking: the goose that laid the golden egg has been all but extinguished...!
And I wonder to what extent this is the case all over our world.
Here's one bit of information to give you an idea. Back when I came to Thailand in 1991, there were about 5 million visitors each year. Just before covid hit the human world, annual visitors had climbed to about 45 million each year! Ko Samui was one of the places that expanded exponentially.
I'm sure these numbers reflect the trend for tourism around the world, but with Thailand being one of the most popular destinations, the effects will have been felt keenly here, both good and bad.
But my reflections are not just on what has happened to the islands here (we took a boat trip to Ko Phangan one day, the island a few kilometers north of Ko Samui), but on what I've observed of the tourists themselves, and the way the whole tourism thing works.
I think it is indicative of how humankind, as a collective whole, has seemingly little idea about, or, worse, any real intention for, living harmoniously with the planet that gives us all our life. And how harmoniously do we live with each other?
But I have also observed and managed to find the 'old Samui' and the 'old Phangan', which enables me to celebrate what it is to be human too.
Always the bad and good come together, and my message is that if we want more good and less bad we have to understand how the bad arises.
To be continued in the next Letter.
Weekly Health Tip: The Art of Doing Wellness
My health tip for this week is based on process and procedure.
Whatever you may decide to change in your life, start out by doing it for two weeks. Monitor things carefully, especially how you feel in your body and in your mood. Ideally write down in your notebook what you observe within you.
I have found time and again that two weeks is plenty to discover if some change or other will benefit me in my health and wellbeing, and improve my mood and mental relationship with the world around me.
And when you realise you are in a better mood, have more clarity of thinking, feel lighter in step and your energy levels are increased, then you know what works for you, and you have your own information for your own context in life.
This is, for me, the art of doing wellness. Once you know such and such helps you, continue doing it; if you fall off your wellness wagon, you know how to get back on it!
Whether it's dropping sugar, eating more fruits, taking a herb (I often take ashwaganda or milk thistle) or a superfood (for example bee pollen or royal jelly), doing some kind of exercise or breathing activity, whatever it may be, do it for two weeks.
Then you will have a very good idea of its efficacy.
My Letters will be back on track next week, as our holiday finishes soon. I am revitalised, regenerated, and raring to get my whole venture cracking on, so expect to see the results in the coming weeks!!
I will leave you with a couple of photos from these tropical islands that so many like to come to! Incidentally, if you've ever heard of the Full Moon Party in Thailand, this is on Ko Phangan. For the young ones! The first picture is Ko Phangan in the distance, and the others are on Ko Phangan, with the small Dog Island just off the north-west coast.
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