Body and spirit

Tonight I went to a class taught by Connor’s wife, Jody, on wellness from a gospel perspective. While the whole thing was quite good (and I wish I’d taken better notes so I could give it the full writeup it deserves), one quote in particular stuck out at me:

“The condition of the body limits, largely, the expression of the spirit. The spirit speaks through the body and only as the body permits” (by John A. Widtsoe, see Quoty for the full reference).

Now, I’ve been a creature of the mind for most of my post-childhood life, paying scant attention to the physical. And I somehow thought that was good — I was proud of it. Sometimes I wonder how I get these ideas in my head. ~sigh~

While I’m still completely committed to the intellectual life — it’s who I am, after all, and serving God with all my mind is still very much a part of my plans for the future — I see now that I’ve been neglecting a major part of the equation. Sure, I do kind of try to eat healthy, and I do walk to school so my life isn’t completely devoid of exercise, but I’ve generally done a pretty good job of making sure that if my brain were put in a jar and the rest of me buried or burned, not much would change.

This quote stirred up and cleared away some of the fog. The part that I have to make myself remember is that the link between body and spirit is inseparable, and that if I want my mind to function at peak performance, I can’t ignore my body, except at my own peril.

Which means exercise. And eating more fruits and vegetables. And getting more sleep. (Which means going to bed now instead of in an hour. Or, even better, an hour ago. :)) There are so many other things that have held higher priority, but I realize now that this is something I can’t really skimp on, at least not without severe ramifications later on. Putting in a little extra time now will actually boost my productivity in the long run, completely making up for the time “lost” in exercise or cooking or what have you. Now if only I can keep myself from forgetting that… :)

But I haven’t yet mentioned the most important part. Sure, having my mind in top condition is good, but for to what purpose? The real reason I need to keep my body in good health is that my ability to serve others is directly tied to how healthy I am. The more in tune my body is, the more energy and strength I’ll have to build the kingdom. And if I ignore that, am I really serving God with all my heart, might, and mind? I didn’t think so.

But I do think I’ve run out of excuses for not exercising. :)

There’s definitely something seemingly noble about ignoring the physical in favor of spiritual things. That said, what impresses me more is someone who can balance the two by taking excellent care of the body and mind.

J and I exercise daily (for the most part), and though it takes some discipline to get out of bed earlier than would otherwise be required, there’s a noticeable positive difference in how we feel physically, mentally, and spiritually.

“I’ve generally done a pretty good job of making sure that if my brain were put in a jar and the rest of me buried or burned, not much would change” lol.

I need to work on this too. Mostly the whole sleep thing. Sometimes it’s just so much more fun to stay up late, right? Either that, or there is not enough getting done otherwise.

I’m pretty sure I had come to this realization a few years ago, but I still am having trouble turning that corner…consistently, at least.

Bart: Aye, balance really is best. I suppose the reason it seems noble to eschew the physical for the spiritual is that we do spend a lot of energy and time throwing off the natural/carnal man, and by extension the physical gets attached to that. But it oughtn’t. (At least not in an exercise/health context. In the sinful contexts, yes. :))

Mary: I used to be really good about going to bed early (10 or so), but for the past six months it’s been really hard, precisely for that reason: I want to get more done. Eventually it catches up to me and I have to go to bed early so I don’t end up in the hospital, but then the cycle repeats itself. You’d think someday I’d learn…

Barney: Yeah, I think I’ve come to this realization a few times, and each time I forget it pretty quickly. In fact, I forgot about it this time about a day or two after I wrote this post, and if it weren’t for replying to these comments, it wouldn’t have popped back into my thoughts at all. ~sigh~ :)