Whenever the thought of a healthy environment comes to me, I usually don't just see clean air or green trees, although those also play a vital part in it. Beyond that, I see the most significant thing, which is safety, going on to other aspects where people feel heard, seen, and valued. Why I see it that way is because, to me, a healthy environment isn't just about the physical; it's a blend of both the physical and emotional, making it a space where we feel comfortable in body and soul. With that being said, I'm sure you'll be wondering, what then exactly makes an environment healthy? Well, look no further, because I'll be telling you all about it below.
To put it into perspective and for starters, what makes an environment 'healthy' for me are as stated below:
Cleanliness: My belief is that a clean space goes on to uplift the mind and goes on to make people treat themselves and their surroundings with more care, so basically we must ensure there is no litter on the ground, no overflowing drainage, and no fumes in the air from different machines. When our environment is clean, it goes a long way in improving our health and preventing germs from entering our space.
Safety: What makes an environment healthy is when it offers security and not anxiety; such a place wouldn't feel like a battlefield where you're fighting with mosquitos and the like. So be it your school, workplace, home, or community at large, we must be intentional about making it safe enough to be ourselves.
Mutual Respect: This is one aspect that's quite important, and exactly why I include the emotional aspect in my intro to this topic, because emotional toxicity can literally make the most beautiful place on earth become unbearable, so what I'm saying in essence is that a healthy environment should be built on empathy, respect, and honest communication.
Support and Inclusion: I've been and worked in a setting where it feels like your voice and contributions don't matter, and that's not healthy for any environment, if I must say the truth, so we as individuals must strive towards making a space where people are at their best because they feel encouraged, where individual differences are accepted, and where everyone uplifts the other.
With that being stated, now to the other aspects of the prompt that asked if my environment is healthy, well, below is my take on that:
If I'm being honest, I'd say that it's not entirely so, because there are days when I observe everything both physically and emotionally, and I usually feel like something is missing, from occasions when the atmosphere at work felt awkward to other times when it's just from the chaos and noise around or even situations when I felt emotional fatigue from giving constantly and yet getting little or nothing back.
Overall, I'm still in the learning phase, meaning I'm learning to create mini healthy spaces within the unhealthy ones. Thankfully, these are made possible by my mindfulness that helps me stay centered, my minimalist lifestyle that helps me keep my space less cluttered and more breathable, and my writing that helps me release as I pour out my mind. Above all, I'm setting boundaries, and that's important because it helps me understand when to say no and when to say yes when it's true.
Responding to the last aspect of the prompt that inquired about what I need to make my environment truly healthy, well, these are me trying to be more kind, listen more, and have a stronger sense of community; having a little more greenery would be a cool tool as well as being intentional with the cleanliness of my community.
Overall, I've come to understand that a healthy environment isn't just something we find but something we build, and that responsibility should start with each one of us.
All photos are taken and edited on canva.
Posted Using INLEO
