Friday Photographs

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the Glory of God.

Romans 15:7

Attending to our Divine DNA

The body is an amazing thing! I use the word amazing in its truest sense. The way in which each bone, muscle, tendon, ligament, and nerve are connected to each other leaves me awe struck. The fact that merely stretching a muscle in my foot can at the same time stretch another muscle in my back and my shoulder is truly wonderful and wondrous. 

I am beginning to realize that our bodies know what they need to be healthy and feel good. The problem is that we are not very good at ‘listening’ to them.  I know this is true for me. In fact, there are many aches, pains, etc. that I ‘suffer’ with because I think that is normal for me. Yet, a small voice in my gut says “You don’t have to be ‘suffering’. Go to the doctor. Find healing.” Yet, because of my stubbornness, my shame, my finical situation I do nothing.

This is not totally accurate. Thanks to my Spiritual Director, Anita Cummings, I have begun to listen to my body. Recently, I was feeling very sore and tight. I knew I needed to do ‘body work’ with her. So I set up an appointment to just do ‘body work’. As she was guiding me through Wallace Method stretching she used a phrase that stuck with me.  It hit upon this idea of ‘listening’ to our bodies. She said “you need to feel and sense when an area of you body needs more attention.” We need to learn to sense when our bodies need our attention. Then we need to learn how to attend to those areas of our body that  need healing or extra attention. 

Attending to our intricate and amazing bodies is very spiritual. We are wonderfully and uniquely created in God’s image. As Fr. Richard Rohr states, “Our DNA is divine.” Thus, by attending to our amazing bodies we are attending to the divine in all of us. 

Friday Photographs

There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.
Nelson Mandela