Body Language

My daughter has started a yearly tradition in our family in which she generously brings home the first virus of the school year to share with us all.  This year’s virus isn’t bad enough for any of us to stay home and in bed; it’s just a big old pain in the butt, or more specifically a pain in the throat.  It’s good that I don’t offer an audio version of my blog, although sometimes I like the sexy, husky tone my voice gets when I’m sick.  This isn’t one of those times.  Today I am just nasally, cranky and croaky.

Why is it that I get so mad at my immune system for “letting me down?”  I never think to thank my body every day for doing everything that it does for me on the daily, even when I’m less than a good steward in regards to sleep, exercise, and healthy nutrition.  Well, hell, I do take expensive vitamins. So there “body”, buck up!!   Martha Graham, the famous dancer respected her body deeply.  This is what she said:

The body is a sacred garment.  It’s your first and last garment; it is what you enter life in and what you depart life with, and it should be treated with honor.  

I’m a cerebral person.  I tend to live a lot “in my head.” The band Twenty One Pilots has a song with the lyrics “I’ve been thinking too much.  Help me.”  I completely relate to those lyrics.  I say that I believe in balancing “the triple threat – mind, body and spirit,”  but my actions often lead me to spend a lot more time in mind and spirit and I let “body” out there to fend for itself.  I only notice “body” when it’s not working perfectly.  “Body” tends to be neglected and taken for granted.

The body is our vehicle for being.  It is what allows our minds and spirits to really explore our world. I often marvel at Sci-fi movies when someone’s wound is instantly healed and disappears, but then I think that in reality, our bodies already really do that amazing “sci-fi” healing.  It just takes a little more time.  Bodies are incredible when you really think about it.

So, maybe if I look at this virus as a reminder to not take my body for granted, it won’t be so annoying to be sick.  Maybe this virus is just a little birdy in my ear reminding me to appreciate my health and vitality and the amazing fact that my body is already in the process of healing itself.  Maybe this virus is a reminder to me to not just listen to the “noise” of a sick body, but to listen to the subtle “nuances” of a healthy body and remain in awe, gratitude and harmony with everything that it offers to me, every moment of my life.