A Look Back Through the IHD Flower
An author’s rumination on the impact of IHD class on his personal well-being.
In the span of 3 months, I’ve been fortunate enough to have taken away several theories, advice, and life lessons from different speakers who were thriving on specific aspects of life. In this paper, I will reflect on the changes on my personal well-being representation- the IHD flower, from the time it was created, up to the closure of the integral human development class.
Activity, Positivity, and Appreciation (APA) is Key
Upon reflecting on my IHD flower, I realized there was no significant change in my current well-being in the sense that almost all eight aspects stayed on the same level since I first did the exercise. My material, aesthetic, and cognitive well-being are still at a high level because I feel that I am in a very good working environment where creativity and expression of ideas are being fostered. I can also say that I am getting the proper compensation and recognition in the workplace while still being challenged enough to maintain the needed balance for me stay engaged and active in my role as one of the leaders in the organization.
My moral and social aspect have also stayed intact since these are tied to my personality and the values that I believed in. I can say that I am firm enough to stand by with my morals in everything I do, and I am also confident with how I make and maintain acquaintances and relationships.
It is on my bodily well-being that I have yet to make any improvements because of the limitations brought about by the ongoing pandemic and the rigors of work. But I must admit that these are just excuses because if you really want something, there are means to work around barriers. It’s a matter of findings ways to be active and getting back to being me, the basketbal addict and frequent jogger prior COVID.
One of facet of life that I think I made headway was on my emotional well-being. I’m still far from where I want to be but what changed is my consciousness to try to be even keeled when faced with certain situations. Now, I often try to remind myself that I need to translate my passion into something positive that could inspire people around me.
Lastly, I believe that my spiritual well-being has also partially bloomed over the course of the IHD classes because my renewed appreciation to all things that I have in life. I don’t have everything, and at the same time I don’t have much, but I believe that I already have enough for me to be happy. So, if there is one thing that could complete my personal well-being, it is my relationship to God which I’ve taken steps to put front and center in my life.
There is More to Life…
The path towards wholeness is a challenge that can be really bumpy at times because of earthly desires like wealth, fame, and status. Most of the time, we tend to get blinded by the material aspect to a point where we lose sight of the real meaning of life.
But through the IHD sessions, I was reminded about the value of having a positive outlook in life and the importance of clinging to hope no matter what the circumstances are. Just listening to the distinguished speakers made me realize that there is always something that we can improve on in terms of bodily, cognitive, emotional, aesthetic, social, moral, spiritual, and material facet of our lives. There maybe things about us that we have yet to discover, or things that we already have that we need to enhance and share to make our lives more fulfilling and meaningful. The realization that there is really more to life than just merely living.
