We only get one body, one life. We can spend a lifetime judging or rejecting this beautiful gift, or we can learn to love it fully and appreciate every moment we are in it.
Living in the Body by Joyce Sutphen
Body is something you need in order to stay
on this planet and you only get one.
And no matter which one you get, it will not
be satisfactory. It will not be beautiful
enough, it will not be fast enough, it will
not keep on for days at a time, but will
pull you down into a sleepy swamp and
demand apples and coffee and chocolate cake.
Body is a thing you have to carry
from one day into the next. Always the
same eyebrows over the same eyes in the same
skin when you look in the mirror, and the
same creaky knee when you get up from the
floor and the same wrist under the watchband.
The changes you can make are small and
costly—better to leave it as it is.
Body is a thing that you have to leave
eventually. You know that because you have
seen others do it, others who were once like you,
living inside their pile of bones and
flesh, smiling at you, loving you,
leaning in the doorway, talking to you
for hours and then one day they
are gone. No forwarding address.
LIVING IN THIS MOMENT 
you are so right
Thanks Beth 💚💕
“Body is a thing you have to carry
from one day into the next”… And some days more of it. 😀
True! And if we are healthy, then even more reason to be grateful 😃
Oh, I love this!
Poor body. I love her, I hate her. I tell her she’s beautiful, I tell her she’s ugly. She tolerates it all and keeps performing for me, though not as she once was able.
This body is getting old. She has gathered scars and wrinkles in her many years, and now she’s become fascinated with gathering flab. At times she horrifies me.
But she is still here, carting me about, and for that I am grateful.
Emilie you are a poet! That’s beautiful and honest and a great reminder to me about loving every inch of this body! Thank you 💕🌈
How true is that!
So true! It’s great. Thanks Jennifer 💚💕
only a pile of bones!
but, their my bones 🙂
Beautiful bones indeed David! 🌈😉
Great poem that speaks to all of us!
My body has been very good to me (despite me, not always to it) and I love it for its more than 60 years of service. 🙂
Beautiful Eliza! And the older I get the more I appreciate this gift and the work it does keeping me healthy.
I love this Karen💕 🙏💕
Yes me too. I have been so hard on my body over the years and it’s time I really loved it and appreciated what a gift it is. 💚
It really is a miracle 💕
Reblogged this on Find Your Middle Ground and commented:
I love this perspective on living in the body. Thank you Karen for sharing 💛
Thank you Val! I loved it too 💕🌈
Very true. Enjoyed this!
Thankyou so much Barbara 💕💚
I love this Karen – at so many levels ❤
Thank you Helen 💕
You hit the mark, as always. We are not always kind to this beautiful vessel we’re given, are we?
Not me! Over the years I’ve been so hard on my body, but now I realise what a gift it is to be healthy and able. We have both seen enough friends with cancer Kay, to appreciate this body! 😢
You are soooo right
Karen,
When a body is broken we treasure it none the less. We are thankful for whatever joy it gives us. For what is most important about a body is the “I” that governs it. The more the body is challenged the more the opportunity for the soul to grow. When one looks into one’s eyes in a mirror one notices not the body, whether broken or whole. What one more importantly sees is whether the soul is troubled or carefree.
-Alan
There is a quote by Kabir that says “If a mirror ever makes you sad, you should know it does not know you.’ This is very similar to what you are saying. When my soul knows the truth within, I will never be sad looking at my reflection. Thank you Alan. 💕
You’re welcome, Karen.
-Alan
I love every part of this.
This makes me realize the expectations and demands I make of my body every day with little gratitude for how it keeps on working. It’s time to show it some appreciation for its loyalty.
Beautuful attitude Ali! We all need the reminder 💕💚
I’m heartened – in body – by this poem, and the expression of gratitude, and I can easily reflect on how grateful I am for bodily recovery. Also, I’m so grateful for knowing there is a light beyond this body that knows this beingness so well. The love is palpable *and* full-bodied as well as transcendant and sublime. A great reminder for when I feel unsturdy.
A beautiful comment and understanding Ka,that we are not just our body, but an infinite soul light that teaches us presence is always within. Thank you 🌈🙏🏻💚