What is Health?

Given my recent immersion into the world of hospitals, health, weakness, infection and catheters due to the complications from my mother's recent "routine" surgery, this article in the NY Times caught my eye.

Why do we all persist in treating health like a bankable asset? Is it the solidity of our flesh and bone? The lab reports that look like bank statements? Either way, the operant fiction is that with diligent adherence to expert advice, pretty much anyone can sock away a nice little stash of health for the future.

In fact, though, health is the opposite of a commodity. It flits around like Tinkerbell, defying all the best intentions and predictions. No one can really articulate what the word means; no two people understand the concept in exactly the same way. And that includes you and your doctor.