Sometimes, like today, it is unsettling to realize how dependent I am on my body. In a very real way, my body is who I am. It seems to be my only connection to my world. At the same time I have an awareness that seems to be able to watch my body, maybe not even be co-extensive with my body. Yet they seem inseparably joined as one.
My body has been my gateway to mindfulness. My body is where awareness begins. That beginning could be a touch felt, a glance seen, a sound heard. By being attentive to what my body senses, I am able to quiet my mind and find that joyful ease that rises from a quiet, attentive mind / body. Mind and body mirror one another. My presence is changed when they work together in this way.
I sometimes think of how I will be affected if my body becomes so impaired that it no longer supports an alert mind. I think of a time when the neurons in my brain no longer function as they currently do. Will I some day slip into the fog of dementia or alzheimers? I wonder if I will have an awareness that persists in spite of my impaired body.
Being dependent on this body of mine has been a grand adventure so far. I want to continue that adventure as long as I can. I want to keep alive in me that spark of life that has been passed down to me from the first living cell. It is a spark on which so much seems to depend.