You’ve got an Amazing Body!

{Photo taken by Craig Borchers, Isla Mujeres, Mexico}

Take the body by numbers CHALLENGE!  Name 10 body parts that have only three letters.  It’s tougher than you think.  (Check back tomorrow to find out the answers!)

“Whether you know it or not, you’ve got fantastic stats.”  This cute little quote and the above challenge were found on the back of a cereal box.

No, I have not run out of ideas to write about.  No, I do not get all my information from cereal companies.  And no, I have not gone crazy…well, ahem…never mind.

Most of the time, I avoid looking at boxes and other packaging because I cannot stop myself from looking at the nutritional information.  I am easily sucked into analyzing the calories, fat content, sugars, sodium, etc.

For some reason, when I was folding up this particular box to be recycled, I noticed an unusual article where there is normally a maze, puzzle, or some other dumb picture.  I almost didn’t look any further because the title, Your Body by Numbers, made me think it was going to be about weight, BMI, cholesterol, or whatever.

Nonetheless, I scanned the information and I liked what I saw.  Reading the article gave me enough hope in our world to continue on for another day.  I was so proud that I almost thought to get my phone and call to compliment the company on their choice of back-of-the-box-entertainment.

This is why I liked the composition:

Body Bashing is the most popular sport in our world today.  We analyze ourselves in front of mirrors, picking out every imaginary flaw and failure.  Countless times a day, we choose to reprimand our body for being inferior and lacking.  We give ourselves unrealistic standards and expectations.  We compare our bodies to other people’s bodies.  And we compare ourselves to fake, airbrushed models in magazines.  We negatively talk to ourselves and mental beat ourselves up every time we are unhappy with the way we look.  We might do this in an attempt to motivate ourselves to work out, to eat healthier, or to change the way we look.  Or, we body bash simply because we do not love ourselves for the way we are.

Would you talk to a loved one the same way you talk to yourself?  Would you not intervene if you heard someone speaking in the same way to speak to yourself?  Would you give the same standards to others that you give to yourself?  I would hope not.

Whether you believe it or not, your body is amazing!

*Did you know your heart beats about 100,000 times a day?

Thank you, heart, for pumping blood through my body at that ridiculous rate.  Thank you, heart, for keeping me alive.  Because I am alive, I can do so many wonderful things.

*You have 93,000 miles of nerves.  Did you know your fastest nerves send impulses at up to 395 feet/second at up to 300 impulses per second?  (Now I know why I am nervous and impulsive all the time!)

But if I didn’t have nerves or impulses, I wouldn’t be able to make any decisions.  At worst, I wouldn’t be able to love, or be a friend to anyone.  I also wouldn’t be able to feel nervous excitement before a big race.  I wouldn’t be able to be scared during a thunderstorm.  And riding a rollercoaster wouldn’t be that fun…although, I don’t like them anyway.

*Your body has more than 640 muscles.  What is your biggest muscle?  You’re sitting on it.

Yup, the next time you are analyzing your caboose in the mirror, remember that it is your largest muscle – and for good reason too!   It allows you to sit and it allows you to stand.  If you didn’t have a tuh-shee, you would have to spend your life in a wheelchair.  Without all the rest of those muscles, you wouldn’t be able to run, play with your kids, bake cookies, read a book, write a letter, ride a bike, kneel in church, sing, laugh, cry…

*You can recognize over 10,000 different scents with your sense of smell.  Your memory is most connected with your sense of smell than any other sense, including sight.

My favorite smell is incense at Mass.  I know that our parish priest uses different types of incense because sometimes it reminds me of Austria and sometimes it reminds me of my childhood.  I love the comforting feeling of smelling a home cooked meal.  And I love the smell of fresh cut grass.  Oh, and the smell of campfire on my clothes the next morning makes me smile…and then I do laundry.

Whether you believe it or not, your body is amazing.

When I am tempted to body bash, it is helpful to remember all the wonderful things my body can do.  When I look at my body with gratitude, I contently walk away from the mirror with a smile on my face.  If I look for the negative, I will find the negative.

If you look for the negative, you will find the negative too.  If you stand in front of the mirror with the intention of picking out your flaws, you will find them, no matter what you look like.  Instead of focusing on the negative, focus on the positive.  Thank your body for all the amazing things it can do.

Without my body, I couldn’t:

Read a book
Watch a movie
Play the piano
Paint a picture
Plant a garden
Hold a baby
Go to mass
Drink a cup of coffee
Mow the lawn
Go swimming
Go shopping with my sisters
Take a walk with my husband
Ride a bike with a friend
Play at the park with my nieces and nephews
And so much more…

(Two) Challenges of the Day:  1) Do the word challenge above.  And 2) Instead of body bashing today, thank your body for all the amazing things it can do.  Your body is incredible.  Make a list of all the things you love to do and put it on your mirror to help you remember to be grateful.  You are beautiful.  You are loved.  You are worthy and deserving no matter what you look like.

*Information cited from “Honey Crunch and Oats”, Millville Cereal Company distributed by ALDI Inc., Batavia, IL.  (You don’t see that kind of footnote everyday!  I may have cited it wrong, but I couldn’t find how to cite a cereal box in my “All the Grammar You need to Know to be Successful in Life” reference book. J)