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In this body
I am alive
Every single day
-安天美
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The opening line "In this body" announces both a location and an identity. Our bodies represent the primary geography of our existence, the first country we ever inhabit. Like ancestral lands passed down through generations, our physical forms carry histories beyond our understanding. The DNA spiraling inside each cell contains the whispers of ancestors who survived against impossible odds so that we might one day draw breath.
When we claim our bodies as sacred spaces, we reclaim territories often colonised by outside expectations. Society constantly attempts to map our physical selves with external measurements and judgments. Yet truth resides in recognising that these vessels belong first and foremost to us alone. They are sovereign nations with their own laws and customs, deserving of both gentle care and fierce protection.
Each morning when we awaken, we re-enter these temples. Our skin, with its remarkable ability to both contain us and connect us to the world, becomes the boundary between internal wilderness and external reality. The body remembers what the mind forgets. It holds traumas in tight muscles, celebrates joy in the surge of endorphins, grieves losses in the heaviness of limbs. When we truly listen, our bodies speak languages more ancient than words.
Aliveness transcends mere biological function. It encompasses the full spectrum of human experience from exquisite pleasure to searing pain. To be alive means to be perpetually in relationship with everything around us. The exchange of oxygen between lungs and atmosphere creates an intimate dance with trees and plants across the globe.
The simple act of breathing connects us to every living creature that has ever drawn breath. Each heartbeat joins the universal percussion that began with the first stirrings of life on Earth. When we touch another person's hand, electrical impulses cross the boundary between separate beings, creating momentary bridges of understanding. These everyday miracles often pass unnoticed beneath the noise of our busy minds.
Consider the odds against your existence. The precise combination of genetic material, the exact timing of conception, the countless moments when your ancestors narrowly escaped death to continue their lineage. Your presence here defies mathematical probability. Each of us represents a statistical impossibility made flesh. When seen through this lens, simply being alive transforms from mundane fact to extraordinary marvel.
Life doesn't ask us to be extraordinary once; it invites us to show up repeatedly. The choice of "every single day" rather than simply "every day" emphasises the distinctness of each rotation of the Earth. No two days in a human life are identical. Each morning offers new circumstances, challenges, and possibilities.
The ancient wisdom traditions teach that presence must be cultivated through intentional practice. When we rush through moments preoccupied with regrets about yesterday or anxieties about tomorrow, we miss the texture of our actual lives. True presence means feeling the weight of a coffee cup in your hands, noticing how sunlight catches dust particles in the air, listening to the subtle variations in a loved one's voice. These seemingly small attentions collect into a life fully experienced.
Growing into full presence requires courage. When we become fully present in our bodies and our days, we must acknowledge both the beauty and the pain. We cannot selectively numb experiences. To feel joy deeply means opening ourselves to grief with equal capacity. The reward for this courage is a life of remarkable richness, where even ordinary moments shimmer with significance.
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<aside> <img src="/icons/backward_blue.svg" alt="/icons/backward_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Struggle Transformation
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<aside> <img src="/icons/forward_blue.svg" alt="/icons/forward_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Trust Anchors
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