5.2 Sustainability, Health, & Healing-Sheena Tagalicod

1. One’s health should never be taken for granted. It should always be considered no matter what the circumstances. It’s true, majority of the time we only pay attention to our health when something is going wrong. Rather, we should try to be more conscious of our health and the way we live our lives. In order to do so, change should begin with each individual. We must hold our own self-responsibility in terms of healthcare to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Taking care of ourselves first needs to happen before we are able to help anyone else. By performing self-care in forms such as meditation or massages, an individual can bring out the positive features of healthcare into our daily lives.

2. Sicko is a great way of emphasizing the critical issue of healthcare here in the United States. I am deeply appalled by the fact that there are 50 million Americans without healthcare. It touches my heart even more knowing that there are 18,000 Americans who will die this year simply because they are uninsured. What does that say about us a country? We have all this money and are known as the land of better opportunities. Yet we have so many people struggling to stay healthy. Something’s definitely wrong here.

I personally know of many individuals who refuses to go to Urgent Care or the ER because they know that if they do, they’ll be stuck with a sky-high bill due to their lack of healthcare insurance. Therefore, they are forced to suffer with their illnesses whether mild or severe. In the long run, this is sure to take a toll on their body as a whole. Getting more Americans healthcare needs to be done now!

3. The World Healing Institute sees the systems of environmental awareness and sustainability, children and their caregivers, and complementary healing modalities as systems that need to be connected for world healing.

4. Papa Ola Lokahi is committed to improving the health status and well-being of Native Hawaiians. They do so, by practicing traditional and culturally appropriate actions that strive to improve the physical, mental and spiritual health of Native Hawaiians and their ‘ohana. This site is of most interest to me because I admire the practice and continuance of the Native Hawaiian culture for it is a culture that is dwindling right before our eyes.