rose of Sharon: Being whole....

That involves a whole whack of stuff, doesn't it. We are unique and intricate and there are so many sides to life as a human being.

We are physical beings that need sustenance...water and food...probably some kind of shelter, but without water and food we shrivel up and die. Our bodies are made to be sustained...like every other living being.

Then too, we are emotional beings. We grow up needing care of our emotions. We need to be nurtured and loved and held and encouraged in who we are as people, from the tiniest of babies to we who are old folk and everything in between. Our emotions involve so many other things too, like how to handle life when these things are not given to us, especially as children. How do we handle a crisis or a great disappointment even a death. The things we have been given to help in our emotional state as children do us well when we face real life and the ability to deal with all we go through.

We have a spiritual life too. Some of us acknowledge that there is something else beyond all we know as human beings, something in another realm. We commonly call it the realm of the spirit...invisible yet real. It's how we seem to connect with God...on that spiritual level. We at times connect with others on this level as well, when we seem to "know" the other person in deep, personal ways. We don't always understand how this happens, but it does. We find ourselves desiring to reach out to the Divine in various ways. In many of the great religions of the world, people close their eyes in prayer and meditation, or they raise their hands and arms upward in praise or bow down low as a sign of acknowledging God or as a sign of repentance.

Being whole is so much more than this but those are some of the things that make us whole, as human beings.

When son came home this weekend, I was reminded again of how our physical bodies take on the role of seeking the Divine, of the importance of keeping our bodies in good shape so that we are able to appreciate these bodies as gifts from God. There is so much we can do with them....for the good. Both our children and granddaughter have a very good sense about caring for their bodies...something I could learn! They eat healthily and they exercise regularly....and it shows! They inspire me.

Each morning while he was here, Matt took to the river bank, following an hour of meditation. He used his body to acknowledge God's presence and to give it a good stretching workout. Shannon and Brittney go to Yoga classes too and enjoy what it does for them. I happened to look out the laundry room window and this is what I saw each morning....before his shower and breakfast.....