Rocky Mountain High

More news this week of a report on just how healthy residents of Colorado are. The Metro Denver Health and Wellness Commission released its study of 25 cities across the U.S. “Metro Denver took the top spot in a combined ranking, including obesity, eating habits, physical activity and health care coverage,” according to the article that appeared in the Denver Post this week.

You can’t read a paper or magazine these days without seeing a headline or article about health. During a recent visit with a relative in his late 80s, we got into this subject of health. He’s a very fit guy and always has been. “It’s from working and playing hard,” he says matter-of-factly. He has never set foot inside a gym. He also eats pretty smartly, too. “Everything in moderation,” he claims.

All the focus on health, including that of our business, keeps me wondering about the special sauce of health. Of course, it’s a combination of genetics and habits, environment and nature. But as the older gent who graced us with his presence earlier this year mused on moderation, I can’t get that thought out of my mind. What is moderation? How to measure it? We are in a time of excess and opulence, at least throughout much of our American culture. Is our definition of moderation the same as it might be through the eyes of this 88-year old? And should moderation be imposed? Encouraged only? Suggested, perhaps? Who decides?

What school of thought motivates your thinking about moderation, especially when it comes to matters of health and wellness. Are you of the Oscar Wilde opinion that “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.”

Or, does the conclusion of poet, A.R. Ammons better describe your perspective:

It just
goes to show you: moderation imposed is better
than no moderation at all.

How about the words of Thomas Paine, the English-born American writer during our own American Revolution era? Do these give a glimpse into your philosophy?

Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.

Give us your thoughts on moderation. Post a comment. Start a debate.