Salubrious

sa.lu.bri.ous/ adjective / healthy, health-giving, , healthful, wholesome, beneficial

I like the supple sound of our word for this week. Some words sound just like what they mean. The literary term for this figure of speech is onomatopoeia. You may remember from your high school days  Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” with its long word  tintinnabulation, a striking onomatopoeia.  Some simple examples are snap, crackle, and pop. Salubrious is not an onomatopoeia, but it certainly has an attractive sound to it, as if it exudes wellness  and health and good feelings, all of which are wrapped up in its meaning.

I’ll take a minute here to make a usage comment. We often say that a particular food is healthy, or that someone “eats healthy,” but that is a misuse of the word healthy. Foods are healthful, that is, they promote  or produce health. Healthy foods? No. We eat  healthful foods. On the other hand, people are healthy. They have health in them, or they exhibit the characteristics of health.

Salubrious is often used in connection with climate. A place where the temperature is just right most of the time is said to have a salubrious climate; it is pleasant and conducive  to  health. Perhaps you know of such a place. The central California coast is said to be one of such places, and so is Cochabamba in Bolivia. It is located high in the Andes Mountain and has a mild year-round temperature in the mid 70 degree range. Now that’s a place to live! I know of one spot in an elevated part of Jamaica where it is mild most of the year, and where people gravitate to enjoy the bracing atmosphere. There is hardly any fluctuation in the thermometer–no extremes. It is just a delightful place  to live.

Our  word takes on added significance when we look at  it metaphorically. Is it possible that we could have our own  salubrious climate that we carry around with us, one that is healthful to ourselves and to those around us? If we did, our emotional temperature would be stable–no outbursts, no tantrums. We would have what others would see as an even disposition. People would feel comfortable in our atmosphere and bask in the pleasantness that comes from associating with us.

Our personal  salubrious atmosphere would make us cool under pressure, no flareups.  When things don’t go our way,  we don’t lash out at others–coworkers, family, friends, or even the dog. We handle disappointments with equanimity.  A most obvious sign of our salubrious atmosphere would be in our words, which  would be  “seasoned with salt,” as the Good Book says, and proceed from a thoughtful mind. No caustic remarks, no critical or cynical observations would escape our lips. We wouldn’t brag about our accomplishments or our possessions. We would remember that our fellow human beings have value and would treat them in a respectful way. Our words would have healing virtue for those who are troubled and fretful.

A climate such as I have described would be a natural wonder; its reputation would be known far and wide and attract people to us, happy to be in our presence.  If we don’t have that kind of personal climate, we can create it with what the Apostle Paul tells us  to think about: things that are just,  honest, true, pure,  lovely,  and of good report. And we can add to these Christ’s profound truth: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” The result would be  an internal climate that would manifest itself in  a salubrious external personality, healthful to those around us, and certainly to ourselves.

Blessings,

Judith

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