Change behavior for the better by making it “fun”. That’s the theory. It’s called the fun theory. A change in motivation, a change in attitude, a change in thought. A change in thought leads to a change in behavior. So, is it possible that a change in thought can also lead to better health? And
Stairs in the Michigan Capitol
I was sitting in the back by the door. After the meeting, and after many there had left, as two Michigan House Health Policy Committee members were walking out of the room one suggested that they take the stairs and the other concurred.
In the committee meeting, Meghan Swain of the Michigan Association for Local Public Health shared that childhood obesity has tripled in the state and adult obesity has doubled. A member of the committee shared that some of the members of the committee are now encouraging one another to take the stairs instead of the elevator.
The point was made that it’s not enough to talk about the importance of these things as they work to improve health in the state, but that they need to do something.
This past week an acquaintance of mine asked a thought-provoking question.
We were discussing the federal health care law and how, as it currently stands, come 2014 all Americans will either have to have purchased health care insurance or pay a financial penalty. The one asking the question, like me, is a Christian Scientist. I generally choose spiritual care in Christian Science because through the years I have found it to be effective, and I could tell from their question that they do too.
Capitol Hill Question Mark
Here’s the question that they asked: “if we purchased the required insurance for medical care coverage, would we have to use it?”
So, do you have an altimeter on the dashboard of your car to gauge your altitude?”
In my last blog post I discussed how metrics need to fit the thing being measured and how a one-metric-fits-all or one-metric-says-it-all approach can be misleading.
I attended the organizational meeting of the Health Policy Committee in the Michigan House of Representatives last Thursday and had the privilege of speaking with a number of committee members afterwards. Chairman Gail Haines of Waterford really has a good group on this committee. They bring together a very broad and diverse set of backgrounds in the area of health policy and they clearly have a passion for making improvements in our state in this area. I think that they will work well together and listen to a broad range of points of view as they do some good things in our state.
Do you have an altimeter on the dashboard of your car to gauge your altitude? Not likely. This metric doesn’t fit the application.
In his first State of the State address last Wednesday Governor Snyder announced that the Michigan government will have a dashboard to gauge progress in different areas that will be available online for all of us to view. In 
general, I like this idea. But it’s important not to fall into a “one-metric-fits-all” mentality.
A dashboard has gauges to show the status of something. The dashboard in a car has gauges to show speed, mileage, engine temperature, etc. Mine even shows tire pressure in each tire.
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day here in the U. S. Walter Cronkite of CBS News referred to him as “the apostle of non-violence in the Civil Rights Movement“. I recently listened to Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. You can find the entire speech below in this blog post. If you haven’t heard it in a while – or ever – now’s a good time!
I’ve been hearing from folks about the new movie, “The King’s Speech”, which came out late last month. It has been nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards. Tom Long of The Detroit News described “The King’s Speech” as “entertaining, funny, touching and smart” and called it “the best film of 2010”. According to the movie review in The Detroit Free Press entitled, “Royally enthralling” by Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel, “’The King’s Speech’ tells the moving story of a monarch’s stammer and the man who helped him conquer it.”
The man who helped him conquer it was Lionel Logue. Logue is usually referred to as a speech therapist. He apparently was a Christian Scientist for a while, and then became interested in Spiritualism after the death of his wife. It should be noted here that Christian Science and Spiritualism are quite different from one another. Christian Science does not include mediumship or communication between the dead and the living but rather a close and inseparable connection between God and man. Logue’s approach as portrayed in the movie is not the method of healing practiced in Christian Science, although his knowledge of Christian Science may very well have helped him aid the king with his speech.
This video below showed me that the Christmas story can be told in the language of today’s Social Media and still share the same message.
So here’s a question: does something have to be new and popular to be relevant?
“The memory of the Bethlehem babe bears to mortals gifts greater than those of Magian kings, — hopes that cannot deceive, that waken prophecy, gleams of glory, coronals of meekness, diadems of love.”¹
Mary Baker Eddy, the Founder of Christian Science, wrote these words in an article entitled, “Christmas Gifts”¹.
Christmas is a special time for me as a Christian Scientist, as it is for all Christians. It is a time to celebrate Jesus and what his coming upon earth means for us all. He is the Son of God. God is his Father. And God is our Father. Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father, which art in heaven…” Two very significant aspects of Jesus’ ministry stand out to me – love and healing.
