In many ways, it's never been easier to live a healthy lifestyle than it is now. Organic grocery stores are popping up in cities nationwide - in New York, you have to strategize the best time to hit Whole Foods or Trader Joe's to avoid lines that can snake through the aisles and out the front door. Organic delis are the new bodegas. Distance running is enjoying a renaissance to rival its faddish craze during the 1970s. In 2006, New York City banned trans-fats from its restaurants. It's illegal to smoke indoors in several major US cities. Fuel-efficient and hybrid cars are gradually replacing the SUV juggernauts of the 1990s as the en vogue things to drive. The list goes on.

Yet childhood obesity is an epidemic, news reports indicate that HIV/AIDS is once again on the rise among gay men in New York City, privatized health care has whole generations of Americans worried about their future, and food-, air-, and water-borne illnesses continue to threaten lives in third and first world nations alike. The more our planet becomes the "global village" Marshal McCluhan described more than 40 years ago, the more we share threats to our physical and psychological well-being.

Nothing exists in a vacuum. Health is tied to the environment, the economy, social rights, and decisions made from the top down by not only our government, but by governments worldwide. Just look at the policies being enforced in Beijing to ensure a hospitable stage for the 2008 Olympic Games. Regulations in food production vary throughout the world, but that food is transported and consumed everywhere. We all share the same ozone, and the effects of its depletion on our health are serious.

Yet, again, we are privileged to live in such an enlightened age. And we will continue to be more enlightened as we become more informed, more conscientious, and more deliberate in how we live. Because each of the categories in AWEARNESS overlap, this forum presents an ideal way to make connections between the many areas that comprise our vast political landscape. In doing so, we can begin to live truly holistically - our bodies in sync with our minds, our environment, and our civil liberties.

Image: "Dance (II)" by Henri Matisse, 1910