We forget the power of the body.
Bodies are always trying to get us to a state of homeostasis,
to a state of balance.
They’re always trying to make us the most healthy, efficient, nurturing, and stable version of ourselves.
And if we listen to what they need,
we will always be okay.
We forget that.
There is no right or wrong answer for the amount of food that our bodies need.
Every single body that ever existed is different and needs different things.
And if you listen to how it feels when you communicate with it
through food, exercise, and even words,
you will hear what it needs and what it wants.
Hypothetically, you could eat chocolate for every meal,
but it probably wouldn’t feel that good.
Your body may want chocolate,
and you should give it some.
Give it all the chocolate it wants
until it tells you it doesn’t want it anymore.
You’re the only one who knows exactly what you need;
no one else.
There is no externally decided amount of food, calories, or types of ingredients
that will tell us exactly what we need.
We are the only ones that have answers.
Deciding to listen to your body
means that you are deciding, based on no external societal evidence,
to only follow what feels right
inside of you
and against everything that may feel right
outside of you.
Bodies already know everything about this universe.
Your body knows everything about you,
the inner depths of yourself
that you don’t even consciously know.
My body is a thousand years old.
My body is everything in this world.
It has all of the answers,
and all I have to do is listen to it.
We can find joy
by slowing down, tasting the food,
and knowing what it feels like to be loved
for solely who you are
and your shine
on the inside,
not what you look like
on the outside.
All of your answers are at that pit inside of you,
that pit that you feed,
that you put your hand over,
that you pleasure.
The mind is up top, in your head,
which throughout life gets piled on by many weights,
like judgment or shame,
that distract it from listening to that pit.
And rather than letting the mind take control,
we can let all the weights go
and start trusting that little pit
right now.
We might as well just listen to our bodies,
because they are the only thing that is true in this world.
If bodies gain weight
when it grows another life inside of itself,
then that is what I want.
If bodies grow grey hairs
as indications of experiences and wisdom,
then that is what I want.
If bodies get wrinkles in your eyes
from smiling during joyful moments,
then that is what I want.
I am not ugly.
I am not attractive.
I am just a human.
I am just a body.
And solely because of that,
I am beautiful.
Photo: Harwood, Olivia. “Intimacy.” 2021. Oil & Acrylic on Canvas.
Ali Walks Around 