Being a Body - JoybookJoybook

A few months ago, I attended a talk about applying philosophy in our everyday lives. In passing, the speaker mentioned that she had stopped referring to her body as “it” and was now using “she” instead — and that making this change had a huge positive impact on how she relates to her body.

This really struck me.

Too often in my own life, I’ve fallen into the trap of forgetting that I *am* a body and that what I experience as “thinking” and “feeling” and “being” are not things happening exclusively inside my head.

I’ve also taken my body for granted, assuming that it (she!) will be there for me even when I haven’t been a very good friend to her. And as I grow older, I’m discovering more and more that this relationship needs to be a reciprocal one if I want to be able to keep counting on this friend who has gone everywhere with me. Who is me.

But just as important, I sense that there’s a richness to life that could be uncovered by more fully inhabiting my body, more fully enjoying the simple pleasures of being a body in this wondrous world, and more fully listening to the wisdom of my body.

As so many do at this time of year, maybe you’ve made some resolutions recently about caring for your own body. If so, perhaps a richer perspective on this topic will help you follow through on your intentions.

But for all of us, resolutions or not, I hope that this soulful examination of what it is to be a body — and how to make the most of that miraculous reality — will help us each live life in ways that feel a bit more beautiful.

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