Camp: Nurture spirit, maintain body

We each have bodies that, during the winter cold, we carefully cover to keep warm. Many of us visit gyms to exercise and keep our bodies in good working order. It excites me to see people walking, especially in groups or with pets, because I know how good it feels. We are paying more attention to what we eat and drink, because we know our consumption determines a lot about our health and functionality. These bodies we have been given are wonderful.

But we are inheritors of a very negative attitude toward the body, and we still live with this heritage. Our Western religious heritage has taught us that the body is the source of temptations to sin rather than the embodiment of Self.

We compare our bodies to other bodies in terms of attractiveness, measurement and athletic ability, and we usually disapprove of what we find. When we want to look good, we turn to the consumption of clothing and accessories, perfume and makeup, rather than an increased awareness of the depth in our eyes, the power of our smiles, the affection in our hugs, the energy flowing through our muscles.

One result is that our focus in relation to the health of our bodies is repair of injury and illness, not health care. We wait until we are sick or injured, and then we seek symptom relief and not true healing. That is why the cost of body repair and maintenance is so expensive, and it will continue to climb. The first thing we can do to change this is stop calling it health care, for that only perpetuates our illusion.

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