Did you ever stop to ask why we are given bodies in the first place? They don’t last forever, tire easily, need sleep, cause much grief and pain, malfunction, never look good enough, cost a lot to keep in shape, clothe, and treat its diseases, need to be fed constantly and emptied periodically. Oh yes, I know they provide work for massage therapists and other professions and moments of physical and psychological highs but is it really all worth it?
I was listening to a tape which referred to the body as a lunch box for the mind. Maybe that’s where the answer is. Perhaps we were given bodies to carry our consciousness and since technology improves with time we receive models that need replacing just as we do our cars and other appliances. Some of us restore and maintain our bodies and keep them for longer times and others go through a rapid turnover rate. That’s an individual decision. I personally like working with the same model for the long haul. I know where all the controls are and how to steer it in the right direction. I also have a chance to retain what I learn and move up in the grades of consciousness if I stick with one body for a longer time. I can work towards maturity and when I turn it in, be a great deal wiser about my next model choice.
My sense is that the body is temporary in order to give us the opportunity to be reborn. Rebirth presents one with a new life and a wide open road that one can choose to travel. If you are wise and choose the correct path then you will very likely maintain the vehicle you are traveling in and enjoy the open highway of life laid out before you. If on the other hand you have not learned the purpose of life and find no sense of meaning you can leave and give it another try.
I listen, every day, to people who are bitter, miserable, complaining and blaming others for the problems they are experiencing. I am amazed at the number of people who keep failing in order to prove their parents did a poor job raising them. I’ve given up blaming and accept responsibility for my life and feelings. I don’t give away my power to others.
Use your body and accept that things will occur but they don’t have to control your thoughts and create disorder in your life. You can give up control, which you never had anyway, and still maintain order. So let your body be your teacher and just as a newborn child comes into the world an empty vessel so let each day begin anew with you an empty vessel ready to receive the gift of life and serve to be a creator.
I am reminded of a story which relates to the afflictions we experience. Suppose you are an empty vessel which is used every day, during a time of drought, to carry water from the well to your home. In this case there are two vessels used every morning. The problem is one has a crack in it which leaks water on the way back from the well so it is not full by the time you get home. You are constantly complaining about the crack and the leak.
One day in the midst of your whining a family member takes you outside and says, “Look at the path. One side is covered with flowers and the other is bare. If the vessel hadn’t leaked water we would never have had those beautiful flowers to look at every day.”
So let it be in your life. Some of us need the darkness to appreciate the light. I find just being aware of the darkness in the lives of others helps me to find the light. Always remember you are a work in progress and keep being reborn. So keep restoring and rebirthing your body. Think of the wisdom of the body, despite all its problems. I love asking medical students how a wound heals and continually focusing on what intelligence starts the process going. How does a body know what to do? I keep probing until the students say, “I don’t know.” Then we really begin to discuss the wisdom of nature and the inherent ability of this lunch box we are given. Open the lid and you’ll find an incredible selection of items to choose from that will nourish you for a lifetime and work at the repair process as long as you care for it and give it live messages.
I might add that consciousness affects machines too. To quote a quantum physicist. Desire alters the physical world. Thus causing things to occur which would not normally occur if they were not desired. So don’t get into your car in a negative, destructive mood wishing you had a new car or it will teach you to be grateful the hard way.