When man possesses a good, sound body that does not overpower him nor disturb the equilibrium in him, he possesses a divine gift. In short, a good constitution facilitates the rule of the soul over the body, but it is not impossible to conquer a bad constitution by training.
Interpretation
A sound body is essential for personal harmony and self-mastery.
This quote by Maimonides emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy body to achieve balance and control over one's soul. It suggests that while a good constitution aids in personal governance, it is also possible to overcome physical limitations through discipline and training, highlighting the interplay between physical health and spiritual or mental well-being.
In practice
In a speech about wellness, I quoted Maimonides to emphasize the importance of physical health in achieving personal goals.
If men possessed wisdom, which stands in the same relation to the form of man as the sight to the eye, they would not cause any injury to themselves or to others; for the knowledge of truth removes hatred and quarrels, and prevents mutual injuries.
There are eight rungs in charity. The highest is when you help a man to help himself.
God who preceded all existence is a refuge.
If the whole earth is infinitely small in comparison with the sphere of the stars, what is man compared with all these created beings!
One should see the world, and see himself as a scale with an equal balance of good and evil. When he does one good deed the scale is tipped to the good - he and the world is saved. When he does one evil deed the scale is tipped to the bad - he and the world is destroyed.
Further, there are things of which the mind understands one part, but remains ignorant of the other; and when man is able to comprehend certain things, it does not follow that he must be able to comprehend everything.
Whether you're six or sixty, if you go on a diet and lifestyle program and feel constrained, you're likely to go off it sooner or later. Offering a spectrum of choices is much more effective; then, you feel free and empowered.
The problem with nutrient-by-nutrient nutrition science is that it takes the nutrient out the context of the food, the food out of the context of the diet, and the diet out of the context of the lifestyle.
Shift work, where the body clock is continuously changed, is really deleterious on many levels - from psychology to physiology.
Public health service should be as fully organized and as universally incorporated into our governmental system as is public education. The returns are a thousand fold in economic benefits, and infinitely more in reduction of suffering and promotion of human happiness.
We know a great deal more about the causes of physical disease than we do about the causes of physical health.
Our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security.
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