I can’t believe that a big chunk of my life was spent chasing convenience. There was always something nagging somewhere in the body. It is almost like I have lived through pain for the most part. What is worse is that I had accepted that, “Maybe an average Joe is supposed to feel this way about their body. Maybe this is our era’s new normal.”

Even today I house areas that are not completely alright. The worst part is that I don’t have control over them. You could only have power over so much, the human body reminds you every now and then. It turns out that most of the problem areas are actually your own doing.

Sometimes I want to go back in time to smack the hell out of that young kid who had thought it was okay to play video games non-stop, the kid who overate, the kid who remarked slyly that he didn’t eat ‘healthy’, the kid whose screentime was too much, who pushed his body for long unbroken hours, the one who had accepted back pain to be a part of life, the kid who thought it was okay to munch all the time, the kid who forgot to stretch or even move a muscle for he was too lost in the gizmo world, the kid who had chased money as if his life depended on it, the kid who had thought he had a mark to make, a point to tap. Look where it got him.

I am sure that kid might have taken a lot of good decisions too, I am pretty confident and thankful for that. But was he ever conscious of them? He was always in a hurry to take the next train that he failed to appreciate where he was stationed. Sure, he enjoyed his mind a lot but in doing so utterly overlooked his body.

Your body is a result of your past mistakes. Everything you constitute today is your past doing. Right from the accumulation of fat, to the fact that you have, at many times, tried too hard to shun it. You haven’t been accepting of it, have taken it for granted, and pushed it beyond all human boundaries. You have ignored its very existence and consequentially it has invariably manifested in the form of body pain, spasms, upset stomachs, ulcers, indigestion, constipation, and other numerous problems not to mention all the jolting bigger ones.

At some point then, you make a decision of learning to live with it. Not out of desperation, but because it’s the only choice that you are left with.

I think it is important to leave out some time for “body appreciation”. Even though you aren’t your body or even your mind, you still owe that much to the vessel that has carried you throughout your life’s journey. It is the only car that you have got which seeks timely maintenance. You have to stretch sometimes, you have to ask what it needs rather than feeding it all sorts of nonsense that upsets its normal functioning, you have to listen to it even when it doesn’t call for attention, and above all – you have to fall in love with it.

It is imperative that you get rid of the extremities from your life – things that you have been doing too much. Rest as much as you can, stay calm and meditate whenever you get a chance. In fact, ingrain the latter in your regular habits to reap its maximum benefits.

Your body reflects the very ripples that your mind creates. It is vital that you calm them down. Just sit and do nothing. It is okay to not do anything. It makes you more conscious of your body or at least whatever you associate yourself with.

I made bad choices when I could have easily walked the other way. But I surmise, at some point bad choices are important, just to wake you up to the good ones.

At least, the waking-up part is in your hands. Since time is subjective, the very realization of the living breathing consciousness inside you will never be too late.