My Reclaimed Life

This seems weird: the longer I maintain an interest in the health of my body, the less I connect my body to my self. You'd think the opposite would be true.

I've heard that our bodies are our "vehicles" and we need to take care of them all my life. I understood the concept in principle, but never really got beyond that until lately. People talk about their bodies a lot. It's a favorite topic of conversation. As I listen to that now, it seems odder and odder to hear people talk as though the pain, or hunk of fat, or hair style, or whatever other body part they are discussing is actually part and parcel to themselves. It seems odd because the body has nothing to do with who we are.

That's not to say my body is not important to me. It is. Just read this website and you'll see that A lot of it is about the body. My body truly is the vehicle for my present soulful existence. If it's healthy, I'll last longer in this life and will be able to spend more time concentrating on fun stuff instead of dumb stuff like aches and pains.

But, even when the aches and pains, and more serious stuff, are front and center, my body seems no more attached to me than our Toyota. I learned a long time ago that if I don't maintain my cars, they break down. If something is broken and I don't fix it, they get worse. My body is exactly like that. That's why I exercise hard every day. I'm just changing the oil.

Taking my body out of the equation as to who I am makes life a lot easier. Taking care of my body as my soul vehicle does that too.

Monday, May 25, 2009

My Body Isn't Myself

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