Megachurch of Mind and Body

I often look at baby L’s fingers and toes and feel as if they are mine. It is an odd cognitive sensation; I don’t get any sensory input from her skin, but yet still think her fingers and toes are mine, probably because my body created them. I remind myself that it is her body, not mine. Her hands will do countless things for her once her brain is better developed. Her feet will aid in keeping her upright and maybe even help her traverse thousands of miles, if she takes after me. Baby L’s body is her personal ship, one that will sail her through life and the varied weather that it offers.

A wish I have for baby L is that she is good to her body, that she realizes early-on what took me 30-some years to discover: that our bodies give us life and should thus be respected and not abused. Oh how so many of us abuse our bodies: some eat too much, others eat too little, still others ingest lots of toxins, many criticize body parts for not being good enough, and many more do not give their bodies the exercise they need. Our society simply does not teach us to appreciate our bodies. We exalt some god, go to religious places of worship, try to love Jesus or some other religious figure, all in an attempt to make our lives better – save ourselves perhaps. But why can’t we worship our bodies instead and do everything possible to nurture them? I am not talking about hedonism; I am talking about respect. Some religions might say that this is heresy, but like some god, our bodies do give us life.

Also like some god, they take our lives away. Maybe on some level we disrespect our bodies because of this. Many of us have been conditioned to love a god, even though the god also has the power to end our lives. Perhaps we resent our bodies because they have ultimate power over us and we have not been taught to love them unconditionally. Without guidance, it is difficult to fully love something that will kill you. We all know that our bodies will kill us someday through illness, disease, injury, or just becoming worn out.

I hope that I can help guide baby L to worship her body and appreciate it as others do the abstract notion of god.