Being in the Body

There's a certain joy in the functioning of the body.

Take a breath and feel the lungs inhale; in and out, the beautiful breathing of the body, oxygen for the flame of our living.

Turn the head and enjoy the give and take of the muscles, their stretch and pull. How wonderful to move, to have the desire to act and to fulfill it! To walk, to reach, to touch, to give and receive--these are acts of exquisite grace and depth, actions not merely utilitarian but possessing intrinsic value, the dance of the joy of being.

All the senses--sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell--are not just pathways for gathering information. No, they are our means of experiencing nuances of the joy of existence and our means of expressing the infinite aspects of who we are. Through our bodies and senses we sing the call and response of life. This is a joyous reality, a joyous moment, a joyous infinity--a joy unbounded.

Mind perceives, emotions feel, the self recognizes itself in experience. and experience in the self. Our cup runneth over with goodness and grace forever.

To have a body and to be alive, to have senses capable of such subtle discernment and a mind of such far-reaching inclusion is a most precious gift, the gift of our birth.

There is no act so small that it is not great, no experience so minute that it is not exquisite, nothing received that is not worthy of praise, nothing given that is not priceless.

This is our potential, our birthright, what we are because we have body and mind.

When we gain a body, we have an obligation to fully become ourselves and to celebrate life. The heart beats. In and out, we breathe the world, and it is good. 

(Note: These thoughts were written with an iPhone 6+ at 5 AM while on the Amtrak Zephyr, somewhere in Nebraska, heading home.)