"Retina" by Kaitlin Walsh (republished with permission)
The retina is a layered sensory membrane that transforms light into electrical neural signals that create visual perception. The image you see is, at best, a representation. Shaped by many parts of the brain working in tandem.
What do you see when you look at yourself?
What do you see when you look at this picture?
Ayurveda sees a composite of five elements.
Earth. Fire. Water. Air. Ether.
A world within a world.
A chariot.
An instrument.
Maybe Mary Schmich had the definition of instrument pinned to her desk when she wrote her column “Advice, like youth, probably wasted on the young”
for the Chicago Tribune in 1997. Maybe the columnist danced with words so often that every one of them became a song.
Maybe she spoke from experience.
Maybe from intimate connection.
Maybe from an innate knowing.
Maybe she too was plagued by negative body talk.
Maybe we all are.
Maybe she found a different way of assembling the same incoming picture.
Maybe you can too.
In her words, “Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.”
This is Ayurveda’s voice. These are Ayurveda’s eyes.
2 : a means whereby something is achieved, performed, or furthered
3 : an implement; especially one designed for precision work
4 : an electrical or mechanical device used in navigating
// Merriam-Webster
Your body is that device that produces the music. Your body is that means of achieving your deepest desires; performing your gifted talents and furthering your understanding of yourself. Your body is that perfectly designed implement that can be sharpened for the finest precision work. And, my favourite of all, your body is that electrical and mechanical device used to navigate.
Want more Mary Schmich inspiration? Go play a bit of Baz Luhrmann. Because Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen).
MA // Modern Ayurvedic TM
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