At an local SGI discussion meeting some years ago, someone said something that has stayed with me. He said that we often speak of the symptoms of illness, but it can be useful to think of the symptoms of health.

At the time I had a long-term, largely untreatable illness – ME/CFS. It was a great help to me to look at things from a different perspective and I made a list of those symptoms of health that occurred to me. I began to look out for them in myself. Much more positive and encouraging than dwelling on the symptoms of illness.

Here’s my initial list:

feeling energetic

sense of joy in life

enjoying healthy food

flexibility in times of eating and sleeping

succeeding in basic hygiene and healthcare (eg actually getting up and getting dressed each day)

honest acceptance of the current situation and capacity to work on improvements (eg dress to look good at current weight & plan ways to lose weight)

readiness to accept a challenge

being able to prioritise

being thankful

being able to communicate with people

finding time for spiritual practices

concentration

discussing/sharing things that matter

self-discipline

awareness of other people

2 colds/year

What would be on your list?