Do you truly take care of your body?

You’ve probably heard the common phrase “My body is my temple”.

This ideas comes from the Bible — 1 Corinthians 6:19–20:

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.”

Now, I’m not a religious person by any means and I did not know the original meaning or origin of this phrase until recent research. The phrase had been passed around, shortened and given a different meaning over time.

However, I do not see my body as a temple.

And that’s not because I disagree with the religious connotations, the metaphor itself does not work for me.

Instead, I see my body as a vehicle.

As Darin Olien states in ‘Superlife’:

“somewhere inside each of us is a human body that can operate and respond like a Ferrari”

But no matter the vehicle, a Ferrari or a Ford Focus, if you want to keep it running, to be able to get from A to B, you have to take care of it.

If you were to put the wrong fuel in a car it can damage the engine and it won’t run.

You need to make sure the oil is topped up so that the engine can run properly.

You need to MOT the vehicle every year to make sure it’s road worthy.

You need to make sure the tyre pressure is high so that the car remains efficient and safe on the road.

No matter what, there’s a lot that goes into make sure a vehicle remains in a good condition that enables you to hit the road.

The reason I don’t see our bodies as temples but instead vehicles is because temples stay still. They sit there and over time they are worn down by weather, by overgrown plants, and they don’t move.

Vehicles, however, are constantly moving. They can weather and rust but you can usually fix that, they’re not made to sit still otherwise the engines, brakes, clutches, batteries will deteriorate.

Our bodies are vehicles because we need to constantly move, they aren’t made for sitting.

We need the right fuel in our body to be able to take action.

We need to take care of our bones and muscles to remain efficient.

Our bodies are made of parts that are alive, that are constantly working to maintain life.

Life is Route 66 and our body is the Mustang that will take us along the journey.

Now a question for you:

Do you truly take care of your body?

With this I mean do you consume the right fuel? The vegetables, the fruit, the raw, whole foods that your body needs to ensure it gets all the right nutrients, Or do you eat processed for created in labs and factories?

Do you exercise regularly to ensure you body is moving and stretching its muscles? Or do you sit for 99% of the day, only walking when you need to go to the toilet or up to bed?

Do you drink plenty of water to ensure all of your cells and your brain are hydrated enough? Or do you fill your body with carbonated, sugary drinks which deplete the body of its nutrients?

Do you get out in the sunlight enough to make sure you body can soak in vitamin D?

Do you get enough sleep at night to make sure you body rests and heals?

What do you eat?

Way back when, we used to hunt for our food.

We would go days at a time without a substantial meal and then we would manage to hunt an animal and eat the meat for protein and nutrients.

We would forage for natural fruit and vegetables to ensure our bodies were fed in between those hunts and to make sure our bodies were getting the nutrients and energy it needed.

Now, we hunt for our food in a weekly supermarket shop.

We buy packaged meats that have, more than likely, been bred in a barn with far too many animals, eaten grains that are filled with chemicals unsafe for human consumption, and that never see daylight.

We buy fruits and vegetables from across the world that the supermarkets deem to be ‘perfect’ looking. They’ve been pumped with chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers unsafe for human consumption and made to look a certain way.

We buy boxes of cereal that we feel give us energy but instead is just full of sugar, increasing child obesity and ruining our teeth and gums.

Cancer is only rising

In the UK, people born after 1960 have a 1 in 2 chance of getting cancer.

Not too long ago that number used to be 1 in 4 but now it’s 1 in 2.

1 in 2.

50% of the population will get cancer.

Why?

There are many reasons why people get cancer, but honestly, I can see the way we treat our bodies, the food we consume, the air we breathe, the water we drink, all large contributors to this rising statistic.

Each year we hear there is more and more research going into finding cures for cancer.

But, in the same way as most pills, rather than trying to find the cure, perhaps we need to look at the source. Instead of taking a paracetamol for your headache, perhaps try to understand why you have a headache: dehydrated? undernourished?

We are quick to try to fix problems, but the majority of our ‘fixes’ are temporary. Rather than looking at the solutions, we need to look at the heart of the problem, only then can we find permanent solutions.

Time is not most valuable thing

They say that time is the most valuable thing we have.

And I don’t disagree that it’s valuable, but I think it sits in second.

It comes second to our bodies.

Without our bodies, we have no life, and without life we have no time.

We have to treat our bodies well to help ensure that we have the most time available.

We have to look after the vessel, the vehicle that takes us through life.

Stop promoting unhealthy products

I’m all for body positivity.

I think years of ideologies of telling us what the perfect body should look like has damaged many people, damaged society as whole. So I’m all up for people being positive about their bodies.

However, I remember seeing a photo of a girl a couple years back. She was one the larger side — though I genuinely couldn’t care, it’s her body, her life — the one thing that did get me though was that she was holding a bag of Cheetos.

I am all up for body positivity, but I am not up for promoting unhealthy, damaging products.

Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the odd packet of crisps or chocolate bar. But I wouldn’t promote them.

I used to be on the chubbier side, always a bit larger than most boys my age. I had awful self-esteem and hated my body.

But I also didn’t take care of my body. I ate junk. I didn’t exercise other than school PE lessons. I ate far too much.

Body positivity is great, as long as we also promote positive body health. It’s no good promoting larger men and women and promoting junk food that causes diabetes, cancer, all other debilitating health conditions.

Our bodies are all we truly have.

They are our vehicle through life.

Once our bodies stop running, we stop living.

I don’t care if you see your body like a temple or a vehicle or whatever else.

I care that you look after you body.

If you take care of your body, you take care of your life.

Imagine you’re 70+ and you’re still able to walk for miles, hike mountains, lift weights, run with your grandkids, go on adventures.

Well, you can only do that if you look after your body now and forever.

They say “you are what you eat”.

And they’re not wrong.

So I’ll ask again,

Do you truly take care of your body?