listening to your body

In last night's Learning Circle I shared about what i'm learning regarding the body and the signals that it gives us. God has created us with amazing bodies. I mean, seriously. I'm amazed every morning that God created me...God wakes me up each morning, gets me out of bed...and I thank God for this body I received.

So, that was a tangent. Last night I was just reflecting on all of the signs and signals that our body gives us as warning signs. When I'm too tired all of the time, what am I doing too much of? When I'm more likely to get sick, I am too tired...and then what am I doing too much of? When my stomach hurts all of the time, what am I feeding my body? When I get headaches everyday? Or stomach aches? Or backaches? And ladies, we have this monthly reminder that things are moving right along...what happens with it's too heavy? too light? or too long? or just gone?

I remember when I was living in Memphis, I was approaching my heaviest, I began to lose my period. My body was trying its best to balance things out, but it just couldn't until I started to participate in my healing...aka figure out what's happening. There is something beautiful about a woman's monthly cycle. I miss my natural cycle. I'm looking forward to figuring out natural family planning in the next year.

Our bodies are sometimes our best thermometers in telling us how we are doing.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs...curlynikki.com and they interviewed one of my favorite artists, Chrisette Michelle.

I love this part of the interview. Michelle just recently did her third BC (Big chop - chopping her relaxed hair off to give life to her natural hair). The interviewer asks about the pressure that she will inevitably experience from the industry to return to a straight style...

She responds with such grace...I will highlight my favorite part.

Chrisette: God hasn’t given us the spirit of fear but sometimes our flesh fights our heart. Every once in a while I’m afraid in my natural body even though my spirit knows precisely what it wants to do. I can never let what any one says shake me into being something I’m not. I have to be brave.

Every TV stage I walk on, I shake. Every controversial interview I do, I shake. Every time I change anything, including my hair, I shake. My record label knows me. I speak softly but, I don’t lie. When I know what I want I say it. My shaven head is my way of saying “I wont take no for an answer”, it is my way of saying “I believe in my creativity and artistry”. This is how I’ve chosen to express myself and guess what? I’m shaking. But that’s okay with me because I’m conquering my fears and living out of the box.