5 Aspects of Wholeness

As we grow and develop, we hardly think about the various aspects of ourselves. We go about our daily lives doing our daily routines, getting busy with our preoccupations. We wake up in the morning, go to work, and come back home and rest. On certain days, we might jog around our neighborhood or go to the gym. In some occasions, we meet family and friends. Along the way, we browse the internet, check our social networking sites, answer some emails, and read some interesting articles. We go to church roughly once a week. We might even have a hobby that we enjoy doing. These are some typical activities we do on a fairly regular basis.

The different activities we do reflect various aspects of ourselves. Without giving much thought to it, we are able to satisfy our needs through the different activities that we do.

One way of understanding ourselves is seeing ourselves from the various aspects that make up who we are. In order to live a fairly satisfactory balanced life, we need to have a deep understanding of the various aspects that comprise our persons. These aspects are as follows:

• Physical – our material self, our bodies;
• Intellectual – our reasoning and rational self;
• Emotional – our reactions, feelings and affectations;
• Social – our interactions and relationships with others;
• Spiritual/Moral – our relationship with ourselves, our inner lives, and our relationship with the beyond (i.e., something greater than ourselves, notwithstanding how one defines this)

In responding to the needs of our physical selves, eating a balanced diet, doing regular exercise and having a sufficient amount of sleep and rest are essential. Our intellectual needs are often satisfied by having something to read and using our reason to deal with different problems that come our way. When we are in school, this is a natural aspect that we develop. Our emotional aspect is also very salient when we talk about a heightened awareness of our reactions and feelings towards certain people, events, circumstances, and beliefs. Our social aspects are sustained in the interactions we have with colleagues, family members, friends, and acquaintances. We can also nurture our spiritual lives through the practice of a religion. Meditation and self-reflection are also activities that nurture our spiritual/moral lives.

Paying attention to all these aspects of our persons on a fairly regular basis is integral in our wellbeing. An overemphasis or overexertion of one more than the other aspects often leads to an imbalance and dissatisfaction in one’s life. Given the preferences and earlier experiences of an individual, certain aspects may take a greater priority in their lives. This is but understandable, but other aspects also need to have a place in their lives. 

This way of understanding personal development is particularly important for young people. Parents and those who guide our youth need to make sure that each one is nurtured and educated in these various aspects. 

Only when we are able to nurture all these aspects can we truly say that we have truly helped in the formation of a whole person.