Embracing new experiences and gratitude for your existence, at this moment, lifts you from conflicts or disappointments you might be experiencing. That expanded perspective is part of whole-being health.

Whole-Being Health

Overall, the new experiences contribute to the feeling, “This is why life is worth living."<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">These findings highlight a link with feeling grateful for just being alive. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Gratitude in this sense is deeper than feeling grateful for all you’ve achieved or acquired in your external, material life. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Rather, it’s inner life awareness of your continuous connection with life in all its forms; an awakening of being part of a continuous whole, from the beginning of time. </li></ul>

That Feeling, "This Is Why Life Is Worth Living"

Research highlights turning fear<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/fear"> </a>into positive energy for growth. <ul><li class="ql-align-justify">A study published in the journal <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-69183-001">Emotion </a>reveals the overlooked positive impact of experiencing uncertainty in your daily life. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Tolerating, and even embracing, the unpredictable nature of life stimulates greater appreciation for simply being alive; for enjoying what is, in this moment of time.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Savoring the “small things” in life pulls you out of immersion in daily ups and downs. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">That understanding adds to a healthy, whole-person recognition of life and helps you appreciate this moment that you occupy, in your brief lifetime.</li></ul>

2. Embrace the Anxiety of Uncertainty…and Life’s Impermanence

All of these findings underscore the overall mental health implications of engaging fully with life - appreciating it within this brief moment of time we occupy—and staying <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/mindfulness">mindful </a>of how transitory and impermanent everything is.

Summary - All The Above Lead To Life Appreciation & Mindfulness

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">A study published in <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-74886-001">Psychological Review </a>found that an important but overlooked dimension of well-being is seeking out new life experiences, especially ones that may emerge unexpectedly - those marked by novelty or complexity, and that may require a change of perspective.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">It might be learning something new; participating in an activity beyond your zone of familiarity; or perhaps traveling somewhere you’ve never been.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">One implication of this research: When you consciously seek out and open yourself to new experiences, you stimulate growth and expansion of multiple facets of your being. </li></ul>

1. Seek New and Diverse Experiences

Similarly, an NYU study published in JAMA Network Open found that engaging with people on whom you can count to simply listen to you when you need to talk and connect with others is associated with greater cognitive resilience as you age; it’s a buffer to the effects of brain aging and disease.

Engaging With People Is A Buffer To Aging

<ol><li class="ql-align-justify">You’re a bio-psycho-social-spiritual entity, within your societal and cultural matrix. Every one of those facets of your being impacts every other. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">A simple example: We know that the microbiomes in your gut directly influence your mind and emotions, your longevity potential, and the health of your physical infrastructure. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">The same can be said for each other “part” of your being: “Mental” health is better understood as “whole-being” health.</li></ol>

 “Mental” Health is Better Understood as “Whole-Being” Health

New findings from Georgetown University reveal that age does not automatically lead to declining mental abilities. <ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Contrary to prevailing thinking, this large-scale research found that those capacities—especially the ability to focus and orient yourself to whatever you’re engaging with - actually improve with age, as you use them. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">These findings add to evidence of the interconnectedness of all dimensions of your being, as your healthy cognitive capacities stimulate the other facets of your self.</li></ul>

Ability To Focus And Orient Yourself Improve With Age

Another overlooked way to grow the “health” part of mental health sounds simple, but research finds it has particular benefit for your essential cognitive and mental capacities as you age: engaging in small talk with people, and listening to them in return. <ul><li>It might be an encounter with a grocery-store clerk, or passing the time for a few moments with a neighbor. </li><li><a href="https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2021/09/deep-conversations-strangers">This study of over 1,800 participants found </a>that connecting with others in meaningful ways tends to make people happier, and that connecting with others in deep and meaningful ways increased well-being.</li></ul>

3. Talking and Listening to Others

Beautifully articulate. Truly love the phrase 'whole-being' health. Love the practice / way of life of it too.