HEALTH MONEY AND LOVE…

Around the world, there is a very great diversity of cultures that adorn the natural or prefabricated beauty of each country and that, in many aspects, identify us or group us in specific geographical areas. For example, in Guatemala, there is a very old custom of saying “HEALTH” when we hear a person sneeze. And I know that in many Hispanic countries there is also this custom, although the word HEALTH is not necessarily used every time someone sneezes.

But what happens when a person sneezes more than once? On more than one occasion, I have joked by repeating the word HEALTH every time the same person sneezes and adding at the end of the last sneeze, “Health is what you need because it is obvious that you are already sick.” But the reality of our custom is that when a person sneezes once, we say HEALTH, if they sneeze a second time, we say MONEY; and if they sneeze a third time, we say LOVE. That is, HEALTH, MONEY, AND LOVE.

The phrase HEALTH, MONEY AND LOVE is very well known and applied in the Hispanic sphere. Sometimes in a trivial and joking way, but if we analyze the meaning of each word a little without delving into the conceptual part because it is very broad, we can understand the depth of its meaning.

In summary, we can define health as, “The state of physical, mental, and social well-being of an individual in the absence of diseases.” That is the ideal state of a HAPPY human being. When we are healthy, all our organs work correctly, developing the functions inherent to the nature under which they were created, and therefore we feel happy.

Since ancient times, money has been a medium of exchange whose value is defined by the amount of goods, services, and all kinds of obligations that we can pay or acquire through a few coins or a wad of bills. Money by itself does not generate happiness, but it helps us have a comfortable life, in addition to providing financial freedom to those who own it. That is the ideal state of a HAPPY human being.

Perhaps the word love is the last in the phrase because it is considered the most difficult to achieve since most human beings aspire to have sincere, pure, true, and loyal love in their lives. The word LOVE could be defined as “an extremely intense feeling typical of human beings.” Paradoxically, LOVE can GIVE or TAKE away happiness. Since great successes and terrible sufferings are attributed to love, those who have love for themselves and for others live better, enjoying everything that life can offer them. That is the ideal state of a HAPPY human being.

Although the reality is that each word of the phrase HEALTH, MONEY AND LOVE has a direct impact on the life of each human being since they are inherently linked to their nature, it doesn’t matter the order in which we decide to write them. What really matters is that we learn to balance them so we can live our lives in the best way possible. Since if one of these three were to be missing in our lives, we could easily lose the other two.

The ideal state of a happy human being is not defined by the amount of health, money, and love that he possesses in his life but by the wisdom with which he learns to govern himself. And for his abilities to CARE, MANAGE or MAGNIFY what he already possesses, and the next time you sneeze, and someone says, “HEALTH, MONEY AND LOVE,” don’t just listen. We have to smile, enjoy, work, and live our lives in such a way that we can get closer every day, TO THE IDEAL STATE OF A HAPPY HUMAN BEING.