Mens sana in corpore sano

Juvenal, almost two thousand years ago, said mens sana in corpore sano, that is a latin aphorism, usually translated as a sound mind in a sound body. However, he wanted to say something a little different because the whole sentence is orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano, that is you should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body. Nowadays it’s only the second part that we use and it’s perhaps a good beginning for well-being.

Beyond this, each person has his own idea about the meaning of well-being. Some people think well-being is to have a lot of money, but this is only to have economic welfare that doesn’t assure happiness. Other people think the most important thing for being happy is to have a good job, but, if they haven’t any good friends or relatives, they’ll not be happy. Other people think friends or love is the most important thing for being happy, but it isn’t possible to live only with love or friends.

The best indeed would be to have a very good health, to be a good person, to have a lot of money, to have a good job or hobby, to have some good friends and to share life with a lovely person. But it’s difficult to have all that, so I think the real well-being is to have mens sana in corpore sano, that is, in my opinion, taking care of them and not desiring a lot of things but enjoying what you have.