BODY CALL

     I resist the physical exhaustion that I feel at the end of my workday. In an effort to perk up when everything in me needs to collapse for a bit and rejuvenate, I have developed an espresso habit. But the truth is that it doesn't really perk me up. It tastes good going down and feels like just the thing, but it disagrees a little with my stomach, and even after a triple espresso, I still have to pull over and take a nap on the way home so that I don't fall asleep at the wheel.
     When the body needs to rest, it will insist upon it. I am learning that. It stops cooperating and gives out. Sometimes, I can push it on and push it on a bit more, but when it's had enough absolutely, it demands its recovery time. I think I can force my body this way and that with willpower and medicines and magical thinking, but there is innate body wisdom over which I have no power in the end. In the end, I have to learn to listen, to the whispers of my body as well as its shouts. It has things to tell me, and important information to share.

I pay attention to my body and the lessons it has to teach me. I trust it to work hard and recover itself, to call for attention when needed, and to heal. I honor its needs and stop trying to force my will and my timing on the way it is. I express loving kindness for my flesh and bones.