Saturday, November 26, 2005

Bodily disdain

I have been fascinated with the early Christian mystics for some time now.

Women like, Angela of Foligno, Catherine of Siena, Hildegard von Bingen, Julian of Norwich, and Mechthild of Magdeburg are fascinating to read if one has the energy to probe through their writings for the little gems of truth and love that are present and available for discovery.

Recently, I happened across this quote by Mechthild of Magdeburg:

Do not disdain the body
For the soul is just as safe in its body
as in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Mechthild writes: "Do not disdain the body."

Do you "disdain" your own body?

Disdain is a feeling of contempt. One online dictionary defines disdain this way.

Disdain
intense scorn: extreme contempt or disgust for something or somebody

So, I ask again.

Have you ever felt disdain for your own body?

I know that I have.

Over the past decade and a half, I have born and nursed five children. Without question, motherhood has irreversibly changed my body. Gravity has taken its own toll. All the while, I've been growing older, (an inevitability we must each face if we live long enough) and that too has altered my body scape in surprising and undesired ways.

In no way do I resemble Western society's vision of feminine beauty. If anything, I am its antithesis.

It would be easy for me to scorn my own body, to hold my body in contempt, to look upon myself with disdain.

I confess now that I sometimes do.

The thing is, I don't want to do this. I believe the Bible when it says that this body is a temple. I believe that this body is sacred. I believe that this body will be resurrected and that every stretch mark, every skin tag, every wrinkle will be glorified.

So what does this mean for me, here and now?

Well, quite simply, it means that the little things matter. Drinking enough water matters. Proper exercise, matters. A diet rich in complex carbohydrates, protein, and whole foods, matters. Rest, matters. Prayer, matters. Relationships matter!

These are the simple ways that I show respect to this body. This is how I honor this body's holiness.

So, take the time.

Attend to the little things.

Honor yourself.

No comments: