Day #21: Grateful for my body (100 Days Gratitude Challenge)

Day #21: Grateful for my body
(100 Days Gratitude Challenge)

There are many things in the world that we take for granted and one of the most often abused and neglected thing in our world is our body. I just assume that it will work all the time. I assume that all the parts will do their job all the time. I feed it junk and expect it to work. I starve it, overfeed it, deny it crucial nutrients, abuse it and neglect it and I expect it to work.

And the funny thing is it does. It takes all that you can throw at it and surprisingly purrs on unconcerned for years and decades till one day it just buckles under.

Today I want to give gratitude to my body. It’s a magnificent machine that s self-correcting, self-calibrating, self-healing, and self-energised. We, humans, are yet to create such a magnificent machine in spite of having in our possession all the supercomputers, intelligence and technology in the world.

I shall give a simple example. Yesterday evening, after a full day of fasting where the only thing I have is water and fruit juice, I broke the fast with some lemon rice. I took a few mouthfuls where I gulped it down and suddenly I started choking on the food. There was no water close by and I had to stop eating for some time waiting for my body to settle down which it did. In a few minutes, the palpitations stopped and I could finish that small portion without any further complications. What happened there? My throat was dry, my gullet was dry, my stomach was empty and the first food that went down my throat backed up without adequate lubrication. But it still corrected itself and put me back in balance. I did not have a heart attack and die.

Look at the other incident which happened a few days back in our city. A middle-aged man walking on Marina Beach collapses and dies. In the prime of health, he is still struck down and out. We all know of such incidents where people who are healthy until the previous moment pop off because the body shut down.

If you have had a fracture or an event where one part of your body was not working, you would know the importance of that incapacitated part. I’ve discovered that every finger, toe, muscle, bone and body part is important and crucial for my well being. When I lose the use of any portion or part, it impacts my life hugely and changes the way I approach life.

I give thanks to each and every organ, muscle, bone, tissue, cartilage, fluids, solids and any other parts yet to be discovered that makes my body work the way it does. I resolve to take care of my body and feed it the right thoughts, words, and deeds that will enhance it and make it more powerful.

I think of my body as my vehicle for this lifetime — a vehicle that can’t be replaced or traded in like a used car. It needs to be nourished with wholesome and healthy foods and exercised daily. So, I don’t give thanks to my body with just lip service, but with active service, by taking care of it with the right nutrition and adequate movement every day. It’s the least I could do for something that supports me every second of my life here on earth.