Daring Mondays: Dare to Delight in Yourself!

Today is a holiday in Canada; it’s actually a relatively new holiday in Ontario, but coming on the tail end of such a busy weekend (we’ve been out the whole time) it is a much appreciated break. Needless to say, I woke up this morning and was quietly puttering around when it sunk in, “Oh my God! It’s Monday! I need to make a post.”

“That’s alright,” I thought, “I have all day. I’ll take some time to contemplate this week’s theme and post later this afternoon.” Then I went to check my Twitter page (in case I was missing anything important).

I believe that things happen for a reason, that there are no accidents, no coincidences, no mistakes. My life bears out the lesson that we always have what we need when we need it. So, it’s no surprise that I found a Tweet linking to a blog post I was interested in reading, and when I read it what I found was a Fabulous, Monumental Dare that I knew I had to pass on to you.

Blisschick, in pondering the deeper meanings of Lent (starting this week on Ash Wednesday) struck to the heart of a subject that I am very opinionated about (not that there is a lack of those). I was, in fact, thinking about this very subject this week while out on one of my walks. I started out by thinking how very physical our culture is; a huge amount of our energy and focus is directed toward the material world and our emBodied life. And yet, we are as disconnected from the truth of our bodies as we are from the truth of our Souls and our Spirits.

We worship our bodies as if nothing else is real and revel in the material world, but we have no idea how to listen to our bodies, and, truth be told, most of us hate them. As Blisschick said, we see them as a “burden”.

To make things worse, so many spiritual paths and teachers degrade our bodies, and so many of us spiritual seekers invest huge amounts of energy in trying to reach out and beyond them – trying to leave our bodies (and this world) behind us for bigger and “better” things.

And yet, you live in this body; this body is our gift, and the temple that is made of Divine and in which Divine chooses to live, yet we mock, degrade, and hate it. If it’s good enough for God, why isn’t it good enough for us?

Above all though, it seems so clear to me that I’m here in this body, having this physical experience because that’s what I’m meant to do; because this body has things to teach me, and experiences to offer me that I cannot gain in any other way.

My body is a gift.

And this is why I love Blisschick’s challenge for Lent. This is why when she says:

This stretch of 40 days is a time to shed our winter hibernation, but more generally, this year, perhaps it is time to finally shed the idea of Body as Burden. Rather than sacrificing a way of eating or thinking or speaking, perhaps we could take on a different kind of 40 day journey — one of awakening the body to the light and warmth of our own love for ourselves.

I want to jump up and down and pump my arms in the air and cheer until I’m hoarse. So, in my excitement that someone else is seeing, and saying, what I’m thinking I’ve decided to pass her challenge on to you as my Dare this week. I take this opportunity to invite you to join me, as I join Bliss in her journey. Dare to delight in yourself this week, this month, for all of Lent (40 Days in case you didn’t know).

Here is Blisschick’s basic challenge, once you decide that, yes, you do need to take part in this, then you can click on the quote to go over and read her entire post (it’s inspiring, do it!) and take up the challenge yourself.

I challenge you to 40 Days of Embodiment. Get in your body and experiment with what your body wants from you…For 40 Days, I Dare You to Dare Yourself. I dare you to not feel better about and more connected to your life.

What would it look like to delight in your body? What would it FEEL like? How would it change your daily life if you stopped and checked in with, and listened to your body for 40 days (remember This Post)? How might it affect your health? Your weight? Your love life (oh yeah, imagine in delighting in that for a day or two!)? Your confidence? Take up the challenge, and don’t forget to keep us posted: blog, comment, whatever.. Let us know how it’s going and what you are learning!

Yours,
Megan