The Mature Man

By Dr. Gerald Benesh

Where do you see yourself?

Throughout the world and in almost all countries, man is restless. He seeks to improve himself, and his chief motive is to become somebody important. To be a non-conformist is somewhat risky and difficult, so the average man travels along the line of least resistance and ends up, as a rule, another mediocre person. He, in most cases, attains his goal of so-called success in one profession or some other endeavor, but what about the inner man? And too, what about his physical status?

After leading a conventional life for two or three scores of years, man finds himself confronted with advanced age and with it the miseries he has accrued by his conventional way of life. The average man will sit back and reminisce and oft-times brag about what he used to do, that is, if he is still capable of remembering, as many lose this faculty in old age. But those who are still able recall their happier days, and these are only memories of the dead past. Very few are experiencing the joys of being fully active and well.

Man is said to mature at about 21 to 25 years, but this deals only with the physical maturity of man. Most men do not attain full maturity in all departments before they pass on from this plane of existence. By maturity, I speak of full growth — mentally, emotionally, as well as physically.

I speak of the integrated man, one who is balanced in all departments of life, a man who is not controlled by his body or mind and who is not a slave to his habits, but a man who is fully aware of his purpose in life and capable to meet with all of the many challenges which life has to offer.

Such a man is rare and most difficult to find. This is a man who understands the laws of life and how he is to fit into life’s program. He realizes the limits of his physical body and uses it well and wisely. He does not abuse his body and cares for it meticulously.

Even with all of the care that is necessary to keep his physical organism functioning at optimum, he does not become a slave to it. He also realizes the role of the mind in balanced living and he uses it as he does his body — wisely and well. He does not become a slave to his mind but rather is in full command of it all of the time.

With this finely attuned body-mind relationship, he functions as a whole man. His life is likened to a beautiful symphony with the master director at the helm. You may ask where is such a man? And I must answer, he is as rare as a priceless jewel.

To attain this state should be the aim of all, and the potential lies within all of us ready and waiting to be tapped. Instead of seeking riches and fame, we should rather seek to become this integrated being and when we do this, we will have true wealth and full health.

To achieve this state, one must first of all become aware. Awareness is the keynote and is the open door to understanding the truth. Awareness requires diligent watching. Watching from moment to moment of one’s thoughts, and in so doing, one becomes aware of his wrong thoughts and actions.

He many times realizes that the mind has played many tricks on him and is the real culprit that has been the source of his problems. By observing the mind, one realizes how treacherous the mind can be, and at the moment of realization, one becomes a bit more aware than he was previously. By diligent practice of this watching, man begins to grow as his awareness also develops.

Natural Hygiene has much to offer, for this system enables one to become more aware of his faulty way of life and as he develops both physically and mentally, and with it emotionally, his growth is hastened.  As he applies  the principles of Natural Hygiene daily and observes the many changes not only in his physical being but in other departments, he grows inwardly as his awareness also grows. Natural Hygiene has much to offer to the one seeking a better way of life, but it is only a beginning and offers many new vistas that the uninformed person is not aware of at this stage of his development.

Seek and you will find — and the sky is the limit. You can become a free agent in life with a greater capacity for self awareness and self knowledge. You can become the captain of your ship and the master of your fate.

©Copyright 2004. All Rights Reserved. Health Science is the publication of the National Health Association. This article reprinted from the Summer 2004 issue.