Nourishment….Body and Soul

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We are spiritual beings living a human life. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Lately, I’ve been pondering a different approach to taking better care of myself. I have been thinking about Body and Soul. Sure, it’s a phrase that’s been around forever. But I’m taking it to heart and realizing that one without the other is like walking around with only one shoe.

First, SOUL. I am better at taking care of my spiritual self. Devoting a portion of my non working hours to service work is spiritually fulfilling for me.  This blog and you, my reader, are part of my spiritual life. Spiritual reading, volunteer work and even prayer and meditation are important parts of my soul work.

Now when it comes to BODY, that is a different issue all together.

Menopause (or, insert issue of choice here) has reeked havoc on my physical body. I am abit overweight, tired and admittedly, over sugared. This is where some change needs to occur. My thickening middle has me a bit depressed and there is really no one that can change that except me.

Though I have been trying to do little things to build a healthier me, I’ve not done a good job managing my weight. I rationalize it with my many obligations, stresses, weather, you name it. But deep down I know I really want to take better care of my “temple”.

At this point I have to tell you I don’t believe in diets. I don’t think they work. Having watched friends gain and lose the same pounds over and over through various diets, I believe the mental state of “diet” is starvation. That may not be the case, but perhaps the word reeks a mental manipulation within the heads of its participants. I’d rather make positive changes to eat healthier and get enough exercise.

I want to believe there is a direct correlation between faith and food. If I treat my body as the temple for my soul, does that make me want to treat it better? Yes, it does. So that is what I’m going to try.

By placing food in the same mental bracket as faith, I hope to change how I feed myself. By taking a moment to reflect and notice what I’m putting in my mouth and why, I hope to give my body a bit more respect. The respect it really deserves.

Are you better at Body or Soul? Or both? What works for you?

It's nice to share. Thank you.

15 Replies to “Nourishment….Body and Soul”

  1. Hi friend, I vote for bathing yourself in a bit of GRACE. You give so much in the form of kind words, that most certainly feed us, the readers souls. I love how you are connecting faith and food. I am trying to make the connection between real health and food choices. We are in this together. Cheers to our good health! healthy hugs to you. 🙂

  2. How inspirational! I once told a friend that while round is a shape, it is one I no longer want to be! Over the past 3 years I have lost about 50 pounds. It’s been slow, but steady. I don’t believe in diets either. You have to make a lifestyle change in order to keep it off. I still have about 20-30 pounds to go in order to be where I want to be, but I will get there…slowly. And if I don’t? Well I have come a long way already and I am proud of that! My biggest problems are 1: I don’t like a lot of food that is good for you! Fish is out and so are most vegetables. I could live on fruit if it were in season year round, haha! 2: I need someone to help keep me motivated on the exercise. Someone to be accountable to I think. I have a friend that goes to Pilates and Zumba…maybe I can get her to motivate me!
    Thanks for the post! Like I said…it is inspirational!

    1. Cathy, you are an inspiration to me. I hope by eating healthy I can shed a few pounds and have more energy. I joined a water aerobics class but I have always thought of trying Zumba. I love to dance! Let me know how you like it! xo Joanne

  3. Yes, Joanne…I know exactly what you mean. I, too, have come to this understanding, and what an eye opener. To know that without the body the soul has no way to express itself here, and here is where we are for a purpose.

    Aging with Grace can mean so much more….

    Blessings for a healthy lifestyle,
    Marianne xo

  4. Both my body and my soul could do with more of a work out, probably, but I eat well and simply do the best I can with everything else. I have decided to trust my body to know what is best for it. If at this stage of my life, my body contours want to be more robust, then so be it, as long as I feel strong and energetic.

  5. Hi Joanne

    What a thought provoking post!! Do I take better care of my body or my soul? Well in terms of time spent it has to be my soul, in terms of interest in, it has to be my soul, in terms of anxiety about, probably a draw.

    Like you I have waged a battle with my body in terms of weight practically all of my adult life. Sometimes I am winning sometimes I am not, mostly not. I am not a serial dieter, most of the time I haven’t bothered for the same reasons you give, but nevertheless the only time I have lost significant amounts of weight has been as a member of a slimming club.

    Thinking of our bodies as a temple may help. Maybe for those of us who are so interested in our souls that should be a motivator. I’m willing to give it a try anyway. At present though I am in a tracksuit and ready to head to the pool for a swim, Problem is it doesn’t really come naturally to me. I would much prefer to be contemplating my soul!!!

    Good luck

    1. Thanks for your comment Corinne! I have to say it does not come naturally to me either to exercise my body. I had hoped that merely taking care of my soul would be sufficient but truly I am coming to believe that my body deserves some kindness and attention as well. Thank you for your thoughts! Blessings, xo Joanne

  6. What a beautiful post. I agree with the other reader that it is very inspirational, yet all of your writing is. I can relate to most of this. 🙂 I also, agree with the other reader about thinking of our bodies as our temple, then maybe we would do better at taking care of it. Looks like we all have some work to do. 🙂

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