Having followed the sage advice of Eckhart Tolle for a while now, I am more watchful of the words that come out of my mouth. I am alert to the tricks that my ego gets up to, sometimes causing me to get lost in the “thinking mind.” I watch my thoughts and guard my tongue when I remember to stay centered in the present moment.
I notice the habitual words of others as well. I have been made keenly aware of how often people complain. I used to complain too, until I learned that complaining is like feeding a monster. A mild complaint, when focused on and talked about, continues to grow. Most people want others to hear their complaints in order to garner sympathy. The truth is, most everyone else is busy voicing their own complaints, so they don’t care to hear about yours unless you can commiserate about a complaint that is common to both of you. We often feel validated if someone else shares a similar problem.
When we complain about our body, instead of appreciating it, we hinder its ability to maintain healthful harmony. If we have pain or discomfort somewhere, it is our body’s urgent message that something is wrong. Many people ignore their body’s messages. They prefer to take a pill or seek the help of a medical doctor, rather than sitting quietly and listening to the message their body is trying to convey to them. Often, our bodies can provide us the solution if we are willing to listen.
I become slightly irritated when people I barely know begin to relate to me all of their physical complaints. If I suggest that they drink more water for their headache, or see a chiropractor for their backache, they blow it off. They believe that the discomfort they are feeling is coming from somewhere outside of them. They do not wish to hear that they have contributed to the pain they are experiencing. They fail to see that our bodies have infinite intelligence hard wired into them, if only we would give them the credit they deserve.
I will be turning 70 in another month and my own body is sending me louder and more frequent messages. Life is a cycle and like all things, my physical body will reach the end of its service to me. I keep my lips sealed, rather than complain about the increased frequency of messages it sends me. I spend more time appreciating this flesh that has allowed me to experience so much during my lifetime. Its intelligence never ceases to amaze me. Occasionally, I might get a small scratch or a cut and the bright, red blood that appears, shows me how vital it is to this sacred vessel that has housed me for so many years. It reminds me that every body is precious and we would do well to honor, rather than complain about them.
