There is something magical about running; after a certain distance, it transcends the body. Then a bit further, it transcends the mind. A bit further yet, and what you have before you, laid bare, is the soul.
Kristin Armstrong
I once had a conversation with a friend. This isn't the first time of having this type of conversation. He's the type I would say hates physical exercise. But that's one thing, another is, he doesn't walk to far distance, either for a stroll or just getting something off the next store.
He’s the type that prefers to get almost everything he wants right at his doorstep and I wonder how much Amazon and platforms like that are earning from all doorstep orders per year.
Leaving that to the main topic here which is about engaging with our body. If I ask you what separates someone who engages in physical activities from someone who doesn't, what would you suggest is the difference between these two?
I am not a physical health therapist but these days you don't have to be one to be able to know about your body and how it responds to some activities over another.
For engaging the body, one activity I've seen work wonders is running or walking. This is something that I think is now becoming common for people, especially the old aged.
The reason is that many never do this while they were young or they have been doing it while they were younger and still love the feel every time they go for a 10 mins walk.
Now compare this to someone who doesn't walk, run or work out. Any difference?
We can say the difference is the physical appearance because a physical activity junkie always ends up on the good side of the physical fitness scale. I think that's true because we can simply measure physical fitness by how easily and freely we can move our bodies.
But how about my friend who's very much younger and someone in his 20s? How could we measure this, remember that most young adults are predominantly in good shape and healthy physically due to their energy level still at its highest peak. So it doesn't show a clear gap between young adults who engage in physical activity and those who don't.
Nevertheless, apart from the physical appearance, there's something else that we are not putting into the picture and that's the mind and soul or simply call it the presence felt with each heartbeat
These two can't be measured nor can you measure presence by just looking at the body. You can't see them.
This is how my friend and mostly all my friends like to reply to me that he's in better shape and his/their physical appearance is fine. I bet it is but it got me to ask that if there was a way he could measure how he engages his mind and soul to know if they are in the right mind state or not, would he want to give it a try?
I bet I would like one too but the thing is that whenever you engage in physical activity there's this unseen presence in us every time and consciously or unconsciously we can measure them and feel them growing inside us, but this only happens whenever we engage in physical scrutiny that we choose.
If the physical body needs to be scrutinized to engage with the other two presence that only grows and strengthens when we engage the body, what about those who never engage, does that mean their mind and soul never grow? Does it mean it's possible to have a 30-year-old body with a 10-year-old mind and soul?
If activities grow our seen bodies what about the unseen, the mind and soul? How do we see the scars we leave on our soul and mind when we don't even engage with them?
This is what I was going to discuss with my friend about engaging the body. But he finds it offensive each time I bring it up. At times he is convinced that I'm trying to call him “fat” or “unhealthy” which isn't the case so I am leaving this one here and also to ask you all and my friend if you can still feel a presence in you, if you do, are you nurturing it or leaving it laying on the couch all day.
What about you, do you think it's good to engage the body, mind and soul in nurturing the presence in us or to measure them thru our perception of our physical appearance? Share your thoughts in the comments.