What my body is telling me

25 March 2010 05:12 PM Categories: Quotidian existence

Uncross your legs. Drink more water. Figure out a way to quiet your mind so that you don’t wake up before four in the morning. It isn’t good for either of us: we need our sleep. But there I go again, falling into the fallacy of the separation between mind and body. If mind emanates from body (and if it doesn’t, what the does it emanate from? The spirit or soul? Please. We are embodied creatures. That’s the presupposition I’m working with here.) . . . where was I . . . oh, yeah. If mind emanates from body, than we can’t talk about “either of us” in this conversation. We are one and the same, joined together whether you like it or not. We are us are we.

Stop eating so much cheese. Eat more nuts. You’re never too tired to brush your teeth. I’m beginning to sound like a bully, aren’t I, full of advice on what not to do, telling you what you should be doing? So let’s get contradictory: there are no shoulds. And we’re not going into what that means. Not enough time.

What are you doing well? How can you keep up the good work? You do exercise, get that heart rate up and jump around like a maniac at least four times a week. You’re writing. That’s good for our mental health, though I think you could do more of it more consistently. You generally eat well, whole grains, good veggies, yada yada yada. Your fruit consumption is pitiful, but that’s how you’ve been your whole life. Not a fruit eater. And while I believe you could probably make more friends, you seem to be have a healthy relationship with your husband and son. Thought you could never pull off that one, huh? Yeah, well, stop thinking that way. Have some confidence in yourself, woman.

Here’s the thing: I can’t promise you a lifetime of health, even if you take care of me. Things happen. Cells go awry, brains leak memories. Try your best (please: I want to be here as long as I can), but don’t get angry at us if it doesn’t work out the way you expected. How does the song go? Hold on loosely, if you cling too tightly … well, the comparison falls apart from there, but I hope you get the idea. You should. We are one and the same, know each other intimately, cheek by jowl as we are. We’re on the same page, read from the same book, are cut of the same cloth.

Yes. Yes. Clichés all of them. Sometimes we’re lazy. But you already beat yourself up enough about that one.