Body

Reading time : 4 minutes

‘That’s discipline. You take care of your body and it will take care of you.’ – Dennis ‘Cutty’ Wise (The Wire TV show : HBO)

The Bible tells us that our bodies can be temples of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19) Whilst not everyone refers to religious texts, it is surely common wisdom to assert that the human body is something to be taken care of as a principal part of our existence – it is after all the vehicle of our soul. Some spend millions annually to alter, modify, or upkeep their appearance. Meanwhile, others suffer from illnesses and difficult circumstances leading them to harm their bodies. Whatever our current mindset towards our physical domain, it is undoubtedly something that we should practice mindfulness towards.  

Taking care of our body is a multi-disciplinary approach incorporating some of our other avatars, but to begin with, here are some simple steps we can utilise in order to build a platform towards a healthy approach:

Comparison: Or rather, avoid it. Comparison is the ‘thief of all joy’ and in today’s world it is very difficult to not constantly compare our bodies to others. Not only will this not serve us well, it will also prevent us from making realistic and tailored goals for our bespoke situation, since we will always be looking at others.

Contentedness: This goes hand-in-hand with comparison. Our aim should not be to impress or to overpower others (unless you are involved in a field where this is necessary), but rather to reach a place where we are content with our body and how we are treating it.

Care: We all use our body for different things. You might be an Olympian, a sumo wrestler, a musician, or just an office worker. Considering our specific needs and goals, we should learn to place care for the body as a key focus and important part of our lives.