I am amazed at what my body can do.
I sprained my ankle in gym class once. It was bad – I couldn’t put any weight on it. It turned purple and blue and swole up like a tennis ball. Basically my ankle took drastic steps to protect itself so I couldn’t walk on it.
I wouldn’t have anyways. It hurt too much.
Then, after about a week, the swelling was mostly gone, the colours were fading, and the pain had diminished.
The cool thing was, I did absolutely nothing to help. It happened without my being conscious of it. My body did what it knew to do, and that was return to a state of homeostasis.
Much like the every-minute important things that the body does, like maintain a certain temperature range and fluid balance, my body took on the task of repairing the damage I had done. And it did exactly that, quite admirably I must say.
Although there were moments in the next few years where I noticed that my ankle wasn’t as strong as it once was, it was still pretty good. And today, some 40 years later, I don’t notice any difference at all.
Broken bones heal if given the right environment. Ulcers go away – I have personal experience with that too. The body does what it needs to do to keep you running at full capacity.
There are things that we can do to help our bodies with these tasks.
Provide it with nutritious food. Every time you eat something, you are either supporting the body’s work or giving it more things to fix.
Drink enough water. Even slight dehydration hampers the ability of the body to perform its functions properly.
Try to do less of the things that don’t make you feel good. Only you know what these are. We all have our vices, and your body works hard to stay healthy in spite of your attempts to damage it, whether consciously or not.
Pay attention to how you feel from moment to moment. Keep a little bit of attention focused within at all times. This sounds easy, but we spend most of our lives ignoring the very thing that makes us alive.
Sad and angry thoughts affect the body, probably more than we know. Work on these emotions, and get help if you can’t do it alone. There is no shame in this and your body needs your support.
Take the time today to think about the amazing things your body does every day, without you having to guide it. And try to help out a bit once in awhile!