Our body is the temple of our spirit
Dear friend,
Our body
is made of flesh and blood.
But it is not only physical.
It is spiritual.
When you reach out
and touch someone
it is not just your hand
that touches them.
It is your heart and soul.
Your hand
is bringing your spirit forward
reaching out
to connect with this person.
When you hold a grieving friend’s hand
it is spiritual.
When you make love with your beloved
it is spiritual.
When you hug a frightened child
it is spiritual.
Your body is the temple of the holy spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19
Our body is a loving gift
to each one of us.
It houses and channels
and expresses our life spirit
as we give our love
to others.
Separation from our body
Alas we sometimes
think of our body
as if it were something separate
from ourselves.
When we don’t like
how we look
we say:
“I can’t stand my body!”
or even “I hate my body!”
But our body
is not some separate object
apart from
who we are.
It isn’t some big lump
over there in the mirror
available to be ridiculed
and dissed
by the sadistic part
of our mind
nor by the sadistic part
of anyone else’s mind
and turned into
an object of contempt.
Our body is not an object.
Our body is US.
We are our body.
Indivisible
Our body mind and spirit
are one.
Indivisible.
No pain
no illness
no disability
shall ever be allowed
to divide us.
We are one whole
united and free person
every single day of our lives.
Honoring ourselves
All our dimensions
—body mind and spirit—
must be honored.
Never set against
each other.
When we work to improve
a dimension of ourselves
we do it
with love.
Never with contempt.
Sometimes it takes
strong force.
The physician
who changes our diet
the analyst
who challenges our masochism
the preacher
who confronts our ingratitude
cannot do it
without causing
some pain and discomfort.
But servant leaders
our allies and ourselves
do it with love
and high purpose.
Miracles
Our body is a miracle.
Are we aware…
Every day
when we
—amazingly—
wake up again…
Our earth too
is a miracle.
A miraculous gift
to all of us
and to all forms of life
who share it.
Just as we humans
are finally awakening
to the urgent fact that
we must honor
our beloved earth
so also
we are awakening
to our urgent need
to honor
our precious body.
How we honor our body
We honor our body
by taking loving care
of our health and safety.
We build our body
healthy lean and strong.
We put no harmful substances
nor junk into it.
We love responsibly.
We take no unnecessary risks.
Every day
Honoring our body
means loving our body
every day.
Not just once in a while.
Not just the first weeks
of the New Year.
Not just
when we feel like it.
Not just on weekdays
and so what on weekends.
Every day.
From wake up time
to tuck-in time.
We take
loving care of ourselves
the way we would care
for our own baby.
Because we are our baby.
And our baby needs us.
Deborah, as always I appreciate your insightful advice.
But I wonder if, as you say, “we humans are finally awakening to the urgent fact that we must honour our beloved earth”. What about Donald Trump’s tragically influential perspective “Drill baby drill” ? Even in Canada today only 4% of Canadians are very concerned about our climate crisis. It seems to me that increasingly we humans are apathetic about the wellbeing of our precious Mother Earth.
This is the way to peace and prosperity.