Metaphor Definition and Examples

Metaphor Definition and Examples A metaphor is a  trope or figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something in common. A metaphor expresses the unfamiliar (the tenor) in terms of the familiar (the vehicle). When Neil Young sings, Love is a rose, the word rose is the vehicle for the term love, the tenor. The word  metaphor  itself is a metaphor, coming from a Greek term meaning to transfer or carry across. Metaphors carry meaning from one word,  image, idea, or situation to another. Conventional Metaphors Some people think of  metaphors  as little more than the sweet stuff of songs and poems- such as love is a jewel, a rose, or a butterfly. But people use metaphors in everyday writing and speaking. You cant avoid them: They are baked right into the English  language. Calling a person a night owl or an early bird is an example of a common  or  conventional metaphor- one that most  native speakers  readily understand. Some metaphors are so prevalent  that you may not even notice that they  are  metaphors. Take the familiar metaphor of life as a journey. You can find it in advertising slogans: Life is a journey, travel it well.- United AirlinesLife is a journey. Enjoy the Ride.- NissanThe journey never stops.- American Express Many other categories  of metaphors enhance the English language. Other Types Metaphor types range from conceptual and visual to dead metaphors, which lose their impact and meaning due to overuse. (You might say, metaphorically, they are done to  death.) A specific type of metaphor is even used in psychological counseling. Following are the main types of this figure of speech: Absolute:  a metaphor in which one of the terms (the  tenor) cant be readily distinguished from the other (the  vehicle). Your Dictionary  notes that these metaphors compare two things that have no obvious connection but are joined to make a point such as: â€Å"She is doing a tightrope walk with her grades this semester.† Of course, she is not a circus performer, but the absolute metaphor- tightrope walk- clearly makes the point about the precarious nature of her academic standing. Complex:  a metaphor in which the  literal meaning  is expressed through more than one figurative term (a combination of primary metaphors). The website  Changing Minds  says that a complex metaphor occurs where a simple metaphor is based on a secondary metaphoric element, such as using the term light to indicate understanding, as in the sentence He  threw light  on the subject. Changing Minds also gives these examples: That lends weight to the argument.They stood alone, frozen statues on the plain.The ball happily danced into the net. Conceptual: a  metaphor in which one idea (or  conceptual domain) is  understood in terms of another- for example: Youre  wasting  my time.This gadget will  save  you hours.I dont  have  the time to  give  you. In the last sentence, for example, you cant actually have or give time, but the concept is clear from the context. ​Creative: an original comparison that  calls attention to itself as a figure of  speech. It is also known as a  poetic, literary, novel, or  unconventional metaphor, such as: Her tall black-suited body seemed to carve its way through the crowded room.- Josephine Hart, DamageFear is a slinking cat I find / Beneath the lilacs of my mind.- Sophie Tunnell, FearThe apparition of these faces in the crowd; / Petals on a wet, black bough.- Ezra Pound, In a Station of the Metro A body cant carve anything, fear is not a slinking cat (and no mind contains lilacs), and faces are not petals, but the creative metaphors paint vivid pictures in the readers mind. Extended:  a comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem. Many lyrical writers use extended metaphors, such as this drawn-out circus image by a best-selling author: Bobby Holloway says my imagination is a three-hundred-ring circus. Currently, I was in ring two hundred and ninety-nine, with elephants dancing and clowns cartwheeling and tigers leaping through rings of fire. The time had come to step back, leave the main tent, go buy some popcorn and a Coke, bliss out, cool down.- Dean Koontz, Seize the Night Dead:  a figure of speech that has lost its force and imaginative effectiveness through frequent use, such as: Kansas City is  oven hot, dead metaphor or no dead metaphor.- Zadie Smith, On the Road: American Writers and Their Hair Mixed:  a succession of incongruous or ludicrous comparisons- for example: Well have a lot of new blood holding gavels in Washington.- Former U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), in the  Savannah Morning News, Nov. 3, 2010Thats awfully thin gruel for the right wing to hang their hats on.-   MSNBC, Sept.  3, 2009 Primary:  A basic intuitively understood metaphor- such as knowing is seeing  or time is motion- that may be combined with other primary metaphors to produce complex metaphors. Root:  An  image,  narrative, or fact that shapes an individuals perception of the world and interpretation of reality, such as: Is the whole universe a perfect machine? Is the society an organism?- Kaoru Yamamoto,  Too Clever for Our Own Good: Hidden Facets of Human Evolution Submerged:  a type of metaphor in which one of the terms (either the  vehicle  or tenor) is implied rather than stated explicitly: Alfred Noyes, The Highwayman The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas. Therapeutic:  a metaphor used by therapists to assist clients in the process of personal transformation.  Getselfhelp.co.uk, a British website that offers psychotherapy resources and information, gives this example of passengers on a bus: You can be in the driving seat, whilst all the passengers (thoughts) are being critical, abusive, intrusive, distracting, and shouting directions, or sometimes just plain nonsense.  You can allow those passengers to shout and chatter noisily, whilst keeping your attention focused on the road ahead, heading towards your goal or value. The metaphor aims to help present someone seeking help with a way to stay focused on whats important by shutting out distracting, negative thoughts. Visual: the representation of a person, place, thing, or idea by way of a visual  image  that suggests a particular association or point of similarity.  Modern advertising relies heavily on visual  metaphors. For example, in a magazine ad a few years ago for the banking firm Morgan Stanley, a man is pictured bungee jumping off a cliff. Two words serve  to explain this visual metaphor: A dotted line from the jumpers head points  to the word You, while another line from the end of the bungee cord points to Us. The metaphorical message- of the safety and security provided by the firm in times of risk- is conveyed through a single dramatic image. The Value of  Metaphors We need  metaphors,  James Grant wrote in his article Why Metaphor Matters published on OUPblog, a website operated by Oxford University Press. Without metaphors, many many truths would be inexpressible and unknowable. Grant noted: Take Gerard Manley Hopkins’s exceptionally powerful metaphor of despair: selfwrung, selfstrung, sheathe- and sheterless, / thoughts against thoughts in groans grind. How else could precisely this kind of mood be expressed? Describing how things appear to our senses is also thought to require metaphor, as when we speak of the silken sound of a harp, the warm colours of a Titian, and the bold or jolly flavour of a wine. Science advances by the use of metaphors, Grant  added- of the mind as a computer, of electricity as a current, or of the atom as a solar system. When  using metaphors  to enrich writing, consider how these figures of speech are more than just ornaments or decorative accessories. Metaphors are also ways of thinking, offering readers (and listeners) fresh ways of examining ideas and viewing the world. Source Noyes, Alfred. The Highwayman. Kindle Edition, Amazon Digital Services LLC, November 28, 2012.

Dominant Types and Seriality in Architectural Practices Essay

Dominant Types and Seriality in Architectural Practices - Essay Example This tendency of the concept of typology to take different shapes and meanings in the history of architectural design methodology has been a subject of debate for a long time. A commonly held squabble against the typological procedures in architecture has been a claim that such practices are manifestations of the times of craft or preindustrial art. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the persistence of the concept of typology in architectural practices of different time periods and contexts. Also the essay will attempt to comprehend the relevance of typology in the current architectural design approaches, as well as the significance of the employment of classification and seriality in such innovative architectural practices as FOA will be discussed. The impact of globalization on the political agencies of different countries and consequently on their attitude towards the urban transformations will be evaluated taking the example of Singapore. Hence the importance of controlling the individual identity of practice using repetitions and differentiations will also be discussed in order to identify the means of evolving distinct types in certain working environment and under different ethical influences. It is one of the universal principles to reduce human perceptions to certain persistently occurring patterns, regular geometries or harmonies. Hence the debate of typology is not new in the architectural discussions. Likewise typologies in architecture specify and direct the varying requirement profiles of certain buildings or spatial systems. These categories of typologies vary with the scale of architectural intervention. Hence at the level of urban planning the typologies may deal with groups of houses, attached or isolated, while the typologies of building may inspect residences, industrial units, entertainment complexes, etc. Building typology has offered the governing model

Social context of Asian business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Social context of Asian business - Essay Example This essay argues that Japanese business behaviour is largely influenced by four major forces, namely, sense of belonging, loyalty, perfection, and time. Japanese businesses can be depicted as big clans or extended families. The fact that approximately 30% of the total number of employees of major companies acquired their jobs through their personal networks reveals the significance of personal connections and referrals before employment (Hein, 2013, 48). Usually a business organisation hires apprentices referred by a university teacher or another, or by a higher-ranking employee. Khalid Mehtabdin (1986 as cited in Alston, 2005, 1) observed that the person who brought a prospective recruit to the company usually becomes the permanent guide of that recruit and is thus answerable to his/her actions or performance throughout his/her career. The higher-ranking guide trains the new recruit to observe ‘appropriate behaviour’ (Alston, 2005, 1). Employees do not choose an employer due to the appeal of a compensation package or a particular position. Employees are requested to become part of the company in general and they are not employed for a particular group of duties. The initial period of employment are devoted to the process of discovering where the employee can most productively or efficiently be positioned and where s/he will be the most successful or beneficial for the company (Hein, 2013). Hence, employees become a part of a corporate ‘family’. Regular task rotations and OJTs enhance the employee’s abilities and reveal where s/he should be positioned in the corporation, though individual or personal reasons are taken into consideration to a certain extent (Goldman, 1994). In Japan, the person is encouraged to adjust to the group instead of the other way around. The previous head of the Idemitsu Petroleum Company, Ishida, explained this image of the business organisation as family (Alston,

Does Restorative Justice Prevent Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Does Restorative Justice Prevent Crime - Essay Example Researchers and authors have critically argued that although significant number of attempts has been made by advocates of Restorative Justice in contrasting this model with various other approaches of justice, this model has suffered from several pitfalls. One of the most important pitfalls has been that those attempts have raised different meanings. These meanings have been attributed to different retribution and to rehabilitation (Mantle et al., 2005: p.2). Principles and practices incorporate a view of crime in terms of a conflict between individuals, instead of conflicts between the state and the offender. The aspect which is closely associated with this view tells that the governments’ responsibility with respect to providing security to individuals, crimes and conditions of disorder need to be shared â€Å"among all the members of the community†. This justice approach has been considered as a humanitarian approach which â€Å"brings to the foreground ambitions of forgiveness, healing, reparation and reintegration† (Mantle et al., 2005:p.3). Hence, this approach includes the offender as well as the victim, their families, friends and community representatives. This urges offenders and the victim to make face-to-face contacts with each other. These aspects of mutual interaction have been used to mark voices of both victim and the offender with regard to their experiences as well as understanding of the crime. These interactions have been introduced in this approach for the purpose of reaching a mutually acceptable solution to the problem (Mantle et al., 2005:p.3). Advocates of this unique approach of justice argue that mental lockdown of the crime is not required in the modern world and society; rather what is required is the justice policy which will repair the damage caused by the crime. Due to this reason, in the restorative justice all parties associated with the crime are incorporated into the justice procedure. The level of confli ct, generated by the system or procedure of criminal justice, has been reduced by the restorative justice. These conflicts arise when harsh punishments are provided to people who belong to the powerless social outcasts of nation. According to the advocates of Restorative Justice, old or traditional modes of justice and methods of punishment have failed considerably to provide a significant system of justice for offenders, victims and others (Siegel, 2011:p.285). However, restorative justice has been praised by various researchers with respect to the fact that it helps in the process of increasing the likelihood of the victim of reporting the crime and also provides different alternative punishments to sanction which ‘get tough’ on these offenders from their respective communities (Sullivan and Tifft, 2006:p.490). Restorative justice has widely been used by NGOs across the globe for providing proper and effective justice to women and children (mainly). Various rights in regard to society, such as rights to work, rights to speech etc., have been developed with greater use of Restorative Justice. Greater use of restorative justice has made the criminal justice system more effective in terms of reducing the level of occurrence of crimes in the society. For instance, in the United States of America, greater use of

Endangered Species Should Be Prioritized Essay Example for Free

Endangered Species Should Be Prioritized Essay Endangered species are native species that faces a risk of extinction in the future. For example, animals that are already extinct like the dodo birds, platypuses that are going to be extinct and many more. These animals are endangered due to climate changes and habitat destruction. The term endangered species can be used in a legal or general context. In a general context, it means species that are facing extinction but it is not protected by the law. When used in a legal context, it refers to a species that is protected by the law (Klappenbach 2013). According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are 801 animals that are already extinct and 3,789 number of animals that are critically endangered. Although it is believed that we should leave nature to take its own course in determining the fate of these species, we need to start prioritizing these species because if the endangered species go extinct, it will cause the imbalance to the ecosystem, preservation of the endangered animals can bring huge benefits to mankind and wild animals represent the Earth. We should protect these endangered species because if these species go extinct, it can imbalance the ecosystem. Firstly, the ecosystem imbalance can be a threat to the human health. It can prevent diseases and it can also sustain good health for the humans. The ecosystem supplies the humans with shelter, clothing, food and a stable climate. The forests provide the mankind oxygen. If humans keep chopping down all the forests, humans will not have enough oxygen and by the end of the day, humans too will be extinct. Moreover, every single animal is important for the balance of the ecosystem. If one animal has been wiped out, it can ruin the chain life. For example, if algae in the pond is destroyed then the tadpoles that feasts on algae will no longer have food. The tadpoles will die of hunger which will mean, there will be few frogs left. The lizards outside of the pond which rely on the frogs for food will have nothing to eat and the lizards will eventually die. Then the birds that rely on the lizards will die and the food chain goes on and on. As you can see, killing one little life can be abig effect to the food chain. Humans are constantly coming in contact with the endangered species that they have become extinct. Most of the animals and plants are destroyed by illegal logging. According to WWF, 73% of timber production in Indonesia is believed to come from illegal logging, 25% of Russia’s timber exports originate from illegal logging and 70% of the harvested timber in Gabon is considered illegal. Imagine how many species the humans killed from the statistic. It is important to preserve the endangered species for our future children. Endangered species should be our priority because we should also preserve the endangered species in order to cure sickness. Animals and plants can bring us a lot of benefits like medicine benefits. About forty percent of the medicine these days come from the natural compounds of different species. These species can be very helpful and also a life saver (Kurpis 2002). We may never know that in some forests there are plants that can cure AIDS or cancer. If we keep clearing forests, we destroy plants that can save the lives of many people. There are some exotic plants like the Calendula flower. The Calendula flower is use to heal treatments for irritations such as eczema (Hughes 2013). The Ginseng plant can be use internally, it stimulates the immune system, lowers high blood pressure and it has the ability to handle stress. Another reason why we should preserve the endangered species is so that our children in the future can see the animals we have now. Animals like the Orangutans are endangered now. Due to deforestation and hunting, the Orangutans are at risk of being extinct. Our children may see the Orangutans now but if they go extinct, they cannot see the Orangutans anymore. Preserving species can also increase the ecotourism in our country. Tourists from all over the world can visit our country and admire the beautiful nature that we have in our country. It will also increase our economy. Places like Bako National Park attracts foreign tourists to visit and see the unique plants and animals we have. Tourists will be amazed with the beauty of our forests and maybe they will come back again. Protecting these endangered animals is very important for us humans because these animals represent our Earth. Without them, we will not be living on the earth till this day. It is the humans’ fault that the animals are endangered. Humans do illegal logging, poaching and hunting. Many species are destroyed by these human activities. Therefore, it is the most responsible thing to do to protect the endangered species. It is the least we can do to make up what we have done to these poor animals and species. Put yourself in their shoes. What if our home has been blown up and we have nowhere else to go. That is how the animals feel. We should feel some empathy for these animals. This is because, if the animals go extinct, it will disrupt the circle of life and also the food chain. We have more knowledge than the animals. As humans with more education, we know what is best for the animals. We should provide them with good shelter. We also have the money to do so. Animals do not work for a living and get paid. We should use what we have to protect the species. Even though most animal activists believe that we should protect these animals, we can understand that we should let nature takes its own course. Animals die due to environmental change. For example, global warming. Due to global warming, it will cause a draught. The species would not have water to drink and eventually they will die. That is how nature works. We cannot fight the nature. However this argument is weak because we are the one who have caused this change in nature. Humans cause global warming. Humans do activities like open burning, illegal logging, harmful smokes from factories and many more. Due to massive illegal hunting, animals are not reproducing. If humans are always hunting and killing animals, it will be hard for the animals to mate and therefore they cannot reproduce more and the animals are at risk of extinction due to these cruel human activities. It is very important to prioritize the endangered species because if they are not protected, our ecosystem will be imbalance, they provide us with medicinal benefits and they represent our Earth. There are many ways to protect the endangered species. If we cannot donate any money to protect them, we can also protect them by doing little things at home. For example, we can learn about endangered species in our area. We should teach our friends and family about the wildlife that live near us. The first step isto know how important it is to protect the endangered species. The natural world provides us with sources like clean water, food and medicinal sources. We should also use less pesticides on our plants. It is hazardous and it can affect the wildlife at many levels. We should report any shooting of animals to the authorities. Harassing wildlife is illegal. Conserving the habitats is one of the most important ways to protect plants and animals that are at risk of being extinct by protecting their habitats in national parks. However they cannot live with too much interference from humans so we should protect habitats outside reserves such as farms and along the roadsides. We can also plant native plants around our housing area. It will attract birds, butterflies and maybe even some threatened species. This is why we should protect the endangered species and not leave them to die. (1,332 words) References 10 Easy things you can do at home to protect endangered species, viewed 30 June 2013, http://www.stopextinction.org/10athome.html. Endangered Species Statistics, viewed 30 June 2013 http://www.statisticbrain.com/endangered-species-statistics/. Illegal Logging, viewed 30 June 2013 http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_forests/deforestation/forest_illegal_logging/. Lauren Kurpis, 2013, Why Save the Endangered Species?, viewed 18 June 2013 http://www.endangeredspecie.com/Why_Save_.htm. Lauren Kurpis 2013, Ways you can help endangered species, viewed 18 June 2013 http://www.endangeredspecie.com/Ways_To_Help.htm. Tim Bowen, Ecosystem is a threat to human health, viewed 18 June 2013, http://www.medicinalnewstoday.com/releases/34791.php. Why Every Animal is so Important for Keeping Earth’s Ecosystem Healthy, viewed 17 June 2013, http://earth.com/why-every-animal-is-so-important-for-keeping-earth%E2%80%99s-ecosystem-healthy-by-admin-on-june-12,2010.

Hamlet :: essays research papers

From reading the play Hamlet it gave me such a well rounded interpretation of a family crisis that ended up affecting an entire country. Throughout the play the main character Hamlet set the tone for many of the acts. His characteristics were so in depth, that his emotional state was never settle. His emotional state constantly changed, sometimes you wouldn’t know what to expect from young Hamlet. Near the beginning of the play Hamlet’s emotional state was very uneasy. His father had just died so, he was living in denial; but to top it all off his â€Å"so called mother† married his uncle Claudius. By his mother marrying his uncle he felt betrayed. Not just because his mother re-married and his father hadn’t been dead for a whole month. The reason why he felt betrayed is that his mother got married in such little time and to his uncle. This situation brought Hamlet to an even more uneasy emotional state. When hamlet was around Ophelia his emotional state was very virtuous. Hamlet was secretly in love with Ophelia and Ophelia loved Hamlet as well. Hamlet was to shy to tell Ophelia what his true feelings were for her; until it was too late. Hamlet’s emotional state when he’s around Claudius is very blunt. You could tell that Hamlet doesn’t really care for him. Since he became his uncle/Step-father. Hamlet loathes Claudius even more after he found out that he was the one responsible for his father’s death. When Hamlet’s around Polonius he tends to mock him. Even though he is the father of his love; he senses that he has a sneaky and cunning side to him. Shortly after Hamlet’s two friend’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrived from England and mysteriously started hanging around him. Hamlet knew that something wasn’t right. Which it really wasn’t; Claudius and Gertrude sent for the two to keep an eye on Hamlet. Hamlet received a bad vibe from them. His impression of them was as being two snakes so; he didn’t want to spend much time with them.

Good Health Essay

â€Å"‘Good health implies the achievement of a dynamic balance between individuals or groups and their environment.'† (Better Health Commission 1986, cited in Carey, D., Perraton, G.; Weston, K. 2000: 3). According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), ‘health’ can be defined as the absence of illnesses and a state of mental and social well-being (Carey et al. 2000:3). In other words, in order to maintain optimal health, it is imperative to have a well-balanced lifestyle which would include a nutritious diet as well as mental and social well-being. This essay shows that food is one of the many important factors amongst others when striving to maintain good health. This will be demonstrated by examining the three main aspects affecting an individual’s health, in the following order: diet, lifestyle and social fabric of family and society. Diet is considered as one of the most crucial factors contributing to an individual’s health. However, being aware of what constitutes a good diet as opposed to a poor diet is significant in maintaining optimal health in an individual. A diet that is well-balanced includes more fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and less fatty, salty or sugary foods. This would mean avoiding processed meals from takeaways and eating less refined foods. Several main reasons are commonly given for this. The first of this is a poor diet which has been noted to be a major cause of obesity. Obesity appears to be a major risk factor in many diseases such as colorectal cancer and coronary heart disease. In addition, in recent years the number of diet-related diseases has increased proportionately, and is now one of the major causes of death in most western countries including Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (1987 cited in Australian Consumers’ Association 1991: 6), the most significant causes of mortality in 1986 were cancer and heart disease. An explanation for this could be the steady rise in obesity levels within Australia, with many people eating highly processed foods which are laden with calories (Australian Consumers’ Association 1991: 13). It is therefore critical to eat a nutritively healthy diet, in order to successfully maintain good health and weight. Furthermore, an example supporting the above contention is a study conducted by the Willcox team (2004: 2), which reveals that the Okinawans have one of  the highest rates of longevity and have considerably lower risk towards most diet-related diseases which tend to be more prevalent in the ‘affluent countries’ of the West. The most notable difference in the lifestyle of the Okinawans and the Australians is their food consumption, which is low in calories and rich in fibrous foods such as grains, vegetables and soy. The study also states that such a diet has allowed the Okinawans to refrain from extensive free-radical damage to their body, allowing them to live longer and healthier. This reinforces the idea that nutriment consisting of a variety of wholesome meals rather than processed foods is extremely essential in maintaining health that has a lower predisposition to diseases associated with diet. Another vital factor for maintaining optimal health is lifestyle. Grundy (n.d. cited in Cadzow 1996: 32) states that the continuing trend of deteriorating physical conditions is due to the sedentary lifestyles people tend to keep nowadays. It seems that in several modern cities like Australia, people often succumb to a physically inactive way of life because of the presence of numerous technological devices such as television for entertainment and elevators for convenience. For instance, it is quite common to find staff members in many workplaces choosing to send an e-mail to another office that could be just next door, then actually going down personally (Cadzow 1996:32). As a consequence, many people are not able to burn the amount of kilojoules they consume and are therefore rapidly gaining weight and becoming vulnerable to diet-related diseases, which can radically hinder their health. Comparatively, the centenarians of Okinawa have been noted to keep a particularly active lifestyle, even as they grow older, frequently taking part in strenuous activities such as fishing and farming as evidenced by research conducted by the Willcox team (n.d. cited in King Murdoch 2005: 24). As a result of their late retirements and continuous physical activities, the Okinawans seem to enjoy high rates of longevity and good health as compared to the populations of other countries (Mc Devitt 1999: 59). A further critical element characteristic of a healthy lifestyle is to refrain from smoking and limiting alcohol intake to a minimum to enhance  physical well-being (Melton 2001: 32). Hence, it is evident that staying healthy means keeping active. Various simple activities such as dancing, gardening, or brisk walking help to burn kilojoules whilst at the same time providing enjoyment. Such activities can easily be done by everyone to keep healthy. Finally, social development also plays a fundamental role in promoting and maintaining good health. Perry (1997: 26) notes that the elderly that live with their children and grandchildren gain several positive impacts on their social and mental well-being. These benefits include emotional and physical support from their children along with a close-knit social network, both of which are significant to maintaining good social condition as evidenced by World Health Organisation’s definition of ‘health’. Conversely, the elderly are able to give emotional support to their family members, as well as recommend healthy dietary choices in order to encourage better health which provides mutual benefits to all members of the family, and allows for a dynamic state of wellbeing. Another example highlighting the importance of culture in the maintenance of health is the Okinawan approach to life, which is full or enthusiasm and positive outlooks, which enables strong ‘social integration’. Further evidence in support of this contention includes studies conducted by several researchers in the West, which have revealed that easy going people with optimistic attitudes generally tend to outlive the pessimistic (Melton 2001: 32). In addition to keeping a positive outlook, coping with stress effectively is another important aspect in relation to mental condition. Meditation and spirituality, helps to reinforce the mental as well as social aspect of healthiness, thus increasing the ‘psychospiritual health’. It can therefore be summarised that being cheerful and engaging in social activities promotes better health. In conclusion, it is evident that maintaining optimal health requires consideration of a variety of factors including the type of food consumed, the sort of lifestyle maintained and the existence of an interactive environment. Since all these factors affect the balance of an individual’s health, it is very difficult to say which particular one is more essential than another. Rather, it is the combination of all three dynamic features  that enables the sustainment of a healthy life, without the incidence of diseases because health is a continual journey and the successful blend of physical, mental and social equilibrium is of utmost importance. As summarised by the Wilcox team, â€Å"[T]he issue is not how long we live, it is how well we live.