My day-to-day life can become very much a routine that I just autopilot through. I wake up when my alarm goes off, I eat meals at mealtime, and I go to bed around a certain time. I do not even really think about it. After such a long time of autopilot living, I think I have forgotten what some of these daily experiences feel like.
Our bodies are very smart and tells us many things. We might not always listen or even stop to recognize it though. Our limbs need oxygenated blood and our heart helps provide that. Our lungs need air and we breathe without even thinking about it. It amazes me when I stop and think about how our body was made and how it adjust to meet our current needs!
Being self-aware is not about being focused only on ourselves. It is about being open and curious with ourselves. It is knowing when our body is telling us to stop and rest. It is knowing when it’s telling us to get up and go. It is about asking ourselves questions about our body’s responses.
When is the last time you listened to your body and thought about how it communicates with you? I think after a while we forget what certain things feel like? One simple way to start is by sitting for just one minute and feeling your heartbeat. Where do you feel it? Is it felt in your throat, chest, your gut? Is it beating really fast? How does your body tell you to feed it? Not everyone experiences a stomach growl until they are famished! Sometimes it is can show up as poor concentration, feelings of weakness or irritability, or fatigue. Unless we pause, listen and ask ourselves some questions we may not know what is really happening.
Our physical bodies are affected by our thoughts, emotions, and choices and vice versa. Tapping into one leads to awareness of the others. All of this is affected in some way by how we view ourselves and God. I know from experience that there is grace to be offered and received in self-awareness. It is a beautiful place to listen to God’s whispers to you.
-Melissa
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