For years, when we talked about wellness, the conversation usually sounded familiar: eat better, exercise more, drink your water, get enough sleep, and manage your stress. All of those things matter, and I will continue encouraging them. But the more community health work I do, the more convinced I become that we have been having an incomplete conversation.
Wellness is personal, but it is also environmental and communal.
Think about it. We can tell someone to eat healthier, but what healthy and affordable food is available where they live? We can encourage a woman to get her recommended health screenings, but does she have access to care, transportation, insurance, accurate information, and a provider she trusts? We can tell someone to reduce stress, but what if part of that stress comes from housing, finances, caregiving, neighborhood safety, or concerns about the environment around them?
Suddenly, "make better choices" becomes a much more complicated statement.
This is one reason my work has increasingly taken me into conversations about health equity and community wellness. Through my work with Sistahs Can We Talk and The Center, I have had opportunities to listen to families, collaborate with health organizations, provide education and screenings, and examine some of the conditions that influence health long before a person ever walks into a doctor's office.
One area that has become particularly important to me is environmental health. Our ongoing conversations surrounding the 29th and Grove contamination have reminded me that where we live can become part of our health story. When communities raise concerns about their health, we need to listen, ask questions, provide credible information, connect people with appropriate resources, and make sure their experiences are not overlooked.
That does not remove personal responsibility. I still believe we have a responsibility to care for these bodies we have been given. Move your body. Know your numbers. Get your screenings. Pay attention to what you eat. Rest. Ask questions. Advocate for yourself.
But I also believe communities deserve conditions that make healthy choices possible.
For me, that is where wellness and advocacy meet.
As the Evangelist of Wellness, my work is no longer simply about asking, "What can you do to become healthier?" I am also asking, "What can we do together to create healthier families and healthier communities?"
Those questions belong in the same conversation.
So this week's thought is simple: What around you is helping—or hindering—your ability to live well?
Look beyond the refrigerator and the gym. Think about your home, neighborhood, relationships, work, access to healthcare, stress, environment, and support system.
Because wellness is not just about what is happening inside your body.
It is also about the world your body has to live in.
Dr. J. Michelle Vann
Evangelist of Wellness
Transforming Lives Through Faith, Wellness, and Purpose
