Day 6 of "Love Myself" Challenge
" My Body Has Treated Me Well "
Over the course of a lifetime a body can go thru a numerous amount of changes. Some good,some not so good. Being the next to the youngest sibling in a family of 3 boys & 6 girls I saw a good deal of what neglect of the body can do. As an adult caring for my hubbys parents,one in a Alzheimer Care Unit & one at home with Dementia,I'm eye-witness what old age can bring with it. The Greek poet,Homer,called old age "loathsome". Shakespeare termed it "hideous winter" but I think none described it more apt than King Solomon at Ecclesiastes 12:1-5 "....days of distress...when you will say,"I have no pleasure in them.":before the sun & the light & the moon & the stars grow dark,& the clouds return after the downpour;in the day when the guards of the house become shaky,& the strong men stoop over,& the ....ladies looking out the window find it dark;when the doors to the street have been closed,when the sound of the grinding mill becomes low,when one gets up at the sound of a bird,& all the daughters of song grow faint. Also, one is afraid of heights,& there are terrors in the street. And the almond tree blossoms,& the grasshopper drags itself along,& the caper berry bursts,because man is walking to his lasting house...."
Because of this,experienced or observed,many seek to find the "treasure" Ponce de Leon,a Spanish Explorer, has been credited with,the Fountain of Youth, magical waters said to hold the powers to reverse aging & cure those ill. American Author Mark Twain may have been one who would have liked to find it for he has been quoted as saying:"Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 & gradually approach 18." (Remind anyone of Benjamin Button?)
A History Professor named Ryan K. Smith commented on how "People are more intrigued by the story of looking & not finding than they are by the idea that the fountain might be out there somewhere." I thought how some approach weight loss that way.More interested in looking & not finding a magic solution to get a model body than they are in actually learning the connection of mind & body & submerging themselves in its applications. I'd be curious to know just how many people believe there is a miraculous solution to aging,illness,or weight loss. History takes us back to when Alexander the Great may have looked for a river that healed the 'ravages of age' before he died in 323 B.C. What about the Bibles references to the old growing young again & the waters of life? Are these "stories" fact or fiction? Does it matter? *Should* it matter?Does *anyone* know? How can we be *sure*? What do we,ourselves, *personally* think or believe? Are we *truly* wanting to unlock the mysteries of what we are in search of, to obtain the treasure? Or...Are we in it for "the thrill of the chase"not really caring if we find the way out of the maze?
Dr. Spock(not from The Enterpise,the Baby Dr....Benjaman)said:"Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do."
Each of my buddies here on fs,as well as those here I haven't met yet,& myself as well,have not only observed but have experienced how awe inspiring the human body is! When we recall what our bodies have done for us,how well it has treated us,we can trust ourselves because it presents to us PROOF that we know more than we think we do!
My body has treated me well.It has continually "had my back" when I turned mine on it.It has never let me down,as I have it.It has constantly been forgiving regardless of the horrid ways I heaped upon it. Thru it all,(50 yrs)it has presented *ama-zing* truths to me.It is *all* the PROOF I need to know I can trust my body.But,how can my body trust *me*?!
Just as it has an *obligation* to me,I *finally* recognize my *obligation* to it.
Last October I vowed in prayer,to friends,to family,on my fs profile page,& to my body itself,to treat it as the oldest,dearest & trusted friend it has proven to be,for life!
Today I renew that vow!:D