When you think about wellness, what do you imagine?

A fancy yoga practice?

A juice cleanse?

Meditation apps?

Why wellness is a multibillion dollar industry is that we live in a capitalistic society--apparently we can only foster wellness if we get the latest gizmo or gadget that makes our lives easier and simpler and healthier.What we know is that if we make people feel bad about themselves (hello, diet culture!), then they buy more stuff to try to correct that.

We're fed, essentially, a lie.

Wellness is not something outside of yourself to grasp or find.

It's an Inside Job

It is found within. Wholeness is where wellness is born. And wholeness is not something that we create. It is uncovered.

We often forget that we are whole, healthy beings. When we feel depressed or anxious, we feel broken and want to fix it. Yet what I know from walking alongside the healing journeys of countless folks, is that our anxiety and depression and self-esteem problems and issues in our relationships is despite our wholeness, not because of some brokenness.

Reconnect with Your Wholeness

So to foster wellness? We must re-connect with our wholeness.

It is there. It is in the quiet moments when all cares pass away, when you notice the smile on your kids' faces when they see you first thing in the morning.

It is in the early morning steam rising up from your coffee.

It is in the comfort you get when your phone rings and you see that it is a good friend, reaching out.

It is in the angle of the sun as it hits your windshield and scatters light upon your hands as you drive your commute home.

Our wholeness is accessed in the little moments, the tiny places of grace, or the lightening of our day. We are graced with these moments, even when we feel broken or damaged. We are given times to access our wholeness-- it is all about being observant.

How to Observe Your Wholeness through a Wellness Lens

When we are given these graces, we get a chance to choose wellness. When our child is smiling at us, when we notice our heart lighten from its burden, wellness says, "let's stay here a moment. Let us breathe into this moment for what it is."

When our early morning coffee is hitting the spot, wellness says, "Let me take a moment of gratitude, that I have this early morning reprieve from my day."

When the angle of the sun hits your steering wheel, wellness offers you a change to allow: "Perhaps I can notice here the wonder that is this moment, among billions of moments. Perhaps I can be peaceful, just here, and now."

It may be simple, but, it isn't easy. It is going against the grain of our training and cultural messages, it is allowing instead of resisting, it is uncovering instead of searching. To choose wellness--and the wholeness underneath it--takes intentionality and focus. It is an unlearning.