pay attention to everything

Last night, a dear old friend came by for one of our occasional dinners. Keri and I made dinner and I set out a bottle of prosecco to enjoy.

Our friend arrived, hugs were exchanged and prosecco poured. DOF produced a bottle of excellent red wine that quite literally wouldn't last another day--prosecco gone we uncorked that one and poured. Eventually food, wine and conversation all dwindled and it was time to call it a night. More hugs and DOF was off to her home for a sound night's sleep.

Sleep came quickly for me but at 3:30AM my body woke me up to give me its opinion on single-handedly killing a bottle of wine. I dutifully wandered into the kitchen for a big glass of water all the while musing how my constitution had failed me. When did I become such a light weight? I drank some more water and brought a glass to my bedside to sip until I fell back to sleep. When the alarm went off at 6AM my body still was very willing to share its opinion about my choices of the night prior. Ugh.

This morning I had to be honest with myself. I wasn't very kind to my good and faithful servant--my body. Just the night before DOF and I lamented how our Russian livers weren't doing their jobs as well. Of course we said that as we refilled our glasses (the wine was VERY good).

Ah the silly things we do.

*************

Since I took up Feng Shui, I start every day by sweeping our entryway and walking our yards--pulling a weed here and there and noticing what needs water, what needs a trim etc. I do the same to the inside of the house--noticing everything that needs attention or that would be better placed if I moved it around. In this way I have created flow in our home and by extension have greater pleasure and ease in my house than ever before.

Clearly, my body would like that same kind of attention.

While I enjoy the pleasures of the table and glass, my body isn't an infinite resource in dealing with the consequences of those pleasures. Pretending it is because of my mythical heritage based constitution is just setting me up for an crisis down the line. Unlike cleaning up a dark corner of my yard or emptying a stuffed closet, care the the body is better done in advance--before stagnation sets in.

Rituals to care for the body need not be lengthy or involved--just consistent. You start by making one small manageable change at a time. Sometimes the best first step is just noticing how things make you feel and doing something different that feels better.

I know DOF won't mind if I slow down on refilling my glass the next time we visit just as I don't mind that she doesn't care for sour cream or mushrooms. Ultimately we both want to feel good which is why we make the choices we do in the first place. The left over wine will have to wait another day.