It’s ironic to be writing this now, way past midnight, on a night I should be in a deep sleep. 5:30 comes early and this body, this heart, this soul and mind has a place to show up each weekday, an important place, where the future of humankind is being guided and groomed.
That’s where the idea for this blog came, at a school faculty meeting on an afternoon when I had a long list of a bajillion more important things to do. As we shared strategies that were working in our classrooms, this one spoke to me, inspired me, and along with my body is gifting me the insomnia to see it through.
Amy B. credited other teacher-humans and the vault of the world called Pinterest with the idea and added her own rich black and white iPhone photo skills and teacher magic to the positive self image poetry project titled “The Best Part of Me”. Her 3rd grade students wrote about all the things their favorite perfect parts allowed them to enjoy and do. You’d be amazed at the thoughtfulness and depth flowing out of their 8-9 year old minds. So here I am thanks to Amy B., Pinterest, and a couple of steroid shots I received yesterday on my not so young knees, thinking about my parts, and what I appreciate about them.
In between listening to and categorizing the rhythms and tones of the hub’s snores, I pondered my physique, a little deeper and quite a bit longer than I did at the faculty meeting. Admittedly my first thought was R rated, my fantastic (recently augmented) boobs! Very corporeal and superficial indeed, and while insuring I’ll never be invited to the “you’re perfect and beautiful just as you are club”, my cup size and self confidence were greatly boosted.
I continued to mentally examine all my other body parts and ultimately settled on my womb as first choice. That amazing space inside of my female human body has swollen, shrunk, cradle, protected and made possible 2 whole perfect human beings until it was time for the best parts of me (excluding the migraine genes) to join the rest of us. I will forever consider my boy and my girl the miracles I sheltered and hosted for a time I wouldn’t trade for the contents of all the vaults in this world.
As the hub’s snores varied in volume and animal mimicry, my mind traveled the length and breadth of my body.
❖ My hands- for the tactile pleasure they give, for the treasures they’ve felt, held, and carried, for their strength and their creativity, for their silent ability to speak and facilitate the transfer of the coding inside me to paper and keyboard
❖ My arms- for the experience of holding another close, so close that our hearts could be felt knocking on the doors of our souls, for their ability to reach out to others, for never shying away from opening doors and learning to close those that cease to be of benefit
❖ My feet- although considered rather large for a female human, for bearing the weight of me through thick and thin, for holding this tall glass of water up, for pointing me in all directions, for taking me to incredibly beautiful earthly places and for always bringing me back to the people I call home
❖ My eyes- hazel, (and recently augmented also, no more droopy lids, yay! I’m sober and bravely telling almost all my secrets here tonight.) for allowing me the gift of sight, for their part in translating swirling atoms into infinite forms of visual architecture and beauty, for their ability to wordlessly communicate, to sense danger, for being the windows to my soul and for emitting the tears that flow in gratitude, joy and even sorrow
❖ My ears- for their ability to perceive the magnanimous array of worldly sounds, the symphonies of this life, especially that of the ocean, my balm and heart song
❖ My nose- ethnic and once broken, for the all of the sensory pleasures it delivers, for its ability to detect danger, for its elephantine memory, allowing me to travel in time
❖ My mouth- very noble-like now from the number of crowns it contains, for the tastebuds that savor the sweetness of life, for the lips that work in conjunction with all the other vocalizing members to communicate with others, for the sensual gift of kissing and being kissed and of course forming smiles
❖ My heart- the miraculous organ that fuels all the rest of me, repaired with a Lilliputian titanium umbrella 6 years ago by a God-like Columbian cardiologist for its continual interaction with every body system, for its ability to feel, to even ache, to be touched by and connected with others through heart waves, for its niches that hold space for carrying other hearts
I could continue this list to include the plethora of cells and systems that comprise our species, but you probably don’t read my blogs for science lessons. You get the idea. We’re all containers of walking miracles, yet we rarely take time to digest and appreciate that fact. Many of us wait till the end, till it’s too late to show much love for our parts, till our parts stop cooperating with each other. I say now, at 3:06 AM, that it’s time. Time to start appreciating all of our individual, unique parts and recognize our personal brands of awesomeness. Join me, won’t you?
Peace and Love
Photo credit- Pinterest , Scholastic.com and Genia Connell March 28, 2013
This Pedestrian Life 