In continuing the discussion on living while we are here, I want to talk about taking care of our bodies.  I just wanted to share a little reminder that the mental and spiritual work we do also needs to be accompanied with the physical.  Our body is full of potential energy and it is designed to move so we can move the energy through us and experience the energy around us.  That is where real life is.  Following up on yesterday’s piece about living while we are alive, our body needs movement, it isn’t meant to sit behind a desk 40 hours a week and only move while we go get food or go to the restroom.  The only thing that benefits from that is the corporation.  I digress.  It also isn’t meant to sit that long and then come home and sit some more while we watch TV.  Our body needs love and attention and, yes, even if you hate exercise, it needs to be pushed. 

Love for our bodies can mean a lot of things.  This is another area where, from a young age, we are taught to disconnect from knowing what we actually need.  We are built with a pretty impressive internal guidance system.  It has all sorts of indicators telling us what is good or bad for us, what’s dangerous, what we are low or excessive on, what feels right to us, when to rest, when to eat, when to move, when to have fun.  We used to be so in touch with nature that we knew the changing of our bodies as well as the changing of the seasons.  Our body craves nourishment, not food.  It craves movement and flow, not just “hitting the gym.”  Our body craves interaction and touch and connection, not just casual flings.  Our body/mind/soul craves community, not fake systems benefitting the few.  Giving the body what it needs is truly a simple thing—but as we’ve said before, simple doesn’t mean easy.  Loving our body takes discipline and practice.

Look, I know for some the body is just a vessel of the soul.  But the BODY IS A VESSEL OF OUR ENTIRE ENERGY!!  We need to make sure we are offering it what it truly needs.  We need to make sure we learn to hear those internal guidance systems because we were born with them for a reason and our bodies are the vessels that will carry the soul through to the end and help us fulfill our purpose on this realm.  We need our body.  We need to cherish our body.  We need to be encouraged to respond to our bodies more.  That intuition is a gift and it’s there for a reason.  Hearing what we need internally is a radical act from responding to the demands of what we are TOLD we need.  Listen to our knowing every time.  The truth is we can’t have a long life without these bodies so be sure to take care of them.  Love them, respect them, enjoy them.  They are a gift.