Precious and Essential to Life, Though Often Taken for Granted
By Lori Cangilla, PhD
Think of something you use every day
that makes it possible to communicate with other people, get information about
the world, and make an impact on the people and things around us. This thing is
very precious, difficult to upgrade, and without it, life as we know it would
cease.
No, I’m actually not talking about our
smartphones. I’m referring to our bodies. These invaluable physical selves
allow us to experience all of the things that make us human. When we are
healthy, it’s easy to take our bodies for granted. If we get injured or sick,
we are quickly reminded of just how much our physical well-being means to us.
When we care for a sick person or feed and clothe a baby, we recognize how
fragile these human bodies can be.
But how many of us struggle to treat our
physical selves as well as we might treat another person, or even as well as we
take care of an important possession like a phone? Do we set ourselves up for
future problems by taking our bodies for granted, ignoring their needs, or
trying to endlessly modify them?
Perhaps we are called to learn ways to
show respect for and honor these physical selves. What if we took the time to
radically change our attitudes toward our bodies? We might begin to:
· Notice
what we are experiencing in our bodies, instead of numbing out, distracting
ourselves, or ignoring sensations that don’t seem convenient
· Respect the wisdom that our bodies contain, designed to be
self-regulating systems that are balanced and signal our minds as to our needs
for nutrition, movement, sleep, and play.
· Accept that there is no such thing as a perfect body, and begin to
develop compassion for the so-called imperfections each of us have.
· Cultivate a sense of wonder at what our bodies enable us to
do—laugh, love, play, work, and change our worlds.
For some people, the challenge of caring
for one’s body can develop into distorted thinking about the body or patterns
of disordered eating. If you or someone you care about is struggling to develop
or maintain a healthy, respectful relationship to the body, please consider
taking a screening as part of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. This
screening can help you or the person you care about learn whether an in-person
appointment for further assessment of eating and body image could be helpful.
Samaritan’s clinical team is waiting to help people on the journey to a more
balanced, self-compassionate relationship with food and the body.
To complete the screening, visit:
For more information on National Eating
Disorders Awareness Week, visit:
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