Sacred Life Sunday: The Bicycle

I have decided to buy a bicycle.

One of my desires is to relate to my body differently, to understand it and to "befriend it".

All my life I've felt rather disconnected from it, as though it is something to be carted around unwillingly, a hindrance, something I didn't like very much.

I abused it a lot. Smoking, drinking, eating too much, never exercising it, not getting it medical attention when it needed it, ignoring it as much as possible.

It was rebellion against the idea that I am my body, that my physical appearance should be any factor in how I am received in the world.

The idea of such shallowness made me so sick that I rather frantically rebelled against it ~ to the point of abuse.

Talk about allowing me to be controlled by repugnant cultural values! Yikes!

Several months ago, I began exercising and found I actually enjoy it. Shortly thereafter, I began doing light yoga. It finally occurred to me that I don't need to treat my body as my enemy, that it needed to be integrated into the overall "me".

The body/mind dichotomy is something we all need to grow beyond at some point. By buying a bicycle and riding it, I believe it will help me get over that ~ not to mention improving my health.

Of course the first few times I fall on my ass, I might change my tune.

We'll see.
~*