Body & Soul

What if …

 

Humans took care of their body and it never “wore” out? The thought has crossed my mind many times, and I read once that the longest living humans all are from Okinawa, Japan.  So what is it about this magic little town that these people live so much longer?  Is the sun better? No pollution? No, there has to be more than just the location. There has to be some innate workings that allow these people to live longer, healthier lives.  Perhaps it is a combination of things, such as diet, exercise, mental peace with the world and oneself?

 

My body is a temple.

Sounds kind of funny doesn’t it? When I think of a temple, I think of a very sacred, religious place … such as a church. The word sacred brings all kinds of images to mind, and the common denominator in all of those, is it is something very precious, … something that you would take extreme care and caution in its handling. I like to use metaphors … as a teacher, it is good practice to be able to relate things to people so they “get it”.  So, with the auto show starting tomorrow, cars make for good examples.  If you drove the most expensive car in the world, and it can be whatever you want it to be, would you drive it recklessly and put cheap gas in it? Leave it out in the sun and expose it to the harsh elements? Would you run it for years without a decent oil change or a tune up? Well, I think we all know that the answer to that is “No, of course you would never be so disrespectful to something that is so expensive and valuable” … to some, so sacred.  Yet, this is what people do to their body every day, on a daily basis.

Water is your high octane gas.  Sun screen is your clear coat wax. Fruits and vegetables are oils and lubricants. Tires are your orthopedic shoes/soles. Your annual physical (at a real doctor – not Web MD) is like your spark plug tune up. Your body will cost much more than any hunk of metal that gets you from point A to point B, but many people take better care of that hunk of metal than they do their own body, their temple.

Cars are just one example of something that people place high value on, somewhat because of what cars give us.  High cost = high value to many.

And for the smokers out there, I hate to break it to you, but your car has never had an air filter change.  And you can’t yank your lungs out and bang the dust and dirt out like they can at Grease Monkey.