What makes your life matter?
I was running the other day not far from a national park when a thought came to mind. How many of us are ever in our bodies when we move? And does it matter if we aren’t?
_
It’s not about what shape we make with our bodies. It’s about how we meet, live, and feel about the shape we make with body and mind. What it means to be in my body fully with my awareness as I move has informed my practice and transformed how I look at life.
What is embodiment? For me, it’s more than just noticing how tired my legs are after a run, a hike or how hot I get cycling up a hill. Being embodied is the practice of being present in my whole self. I notice the physical and emotional sensations and appropriately respond to them.
Activities such as running, biking or hikes in nature I found to be great ways to connect my body and mind, pouring oxygen and being in constant flow. It helps me to check in on what I find to be a meaningful life.
When we’re moving, we’re missing the potential of what movement offers — embodiment and transformation. It is in these times I envision answers, naturally, to potentially overcome current challenges of any kind or simply to release stress and check with myself about what brings me to life.
The questions we ask ourselves at that moment create a more significant opportunity for us to be more present. Exploring our bodies and sensations regularly through physical and mental flow simultaneously can open doors to awareness.
Being embodied is more than being aware of your physical and emotional sensations. It is the response to that awareness, too. We can use this information to make a choice.
So, for example, when I am running, biking or hiking, I step away to feel calmer. It offers me the perfect space for this kind of embodied movement. Noticing comes first, the information or awareness comes second, and the third comes action: choice. You can see how embodiment can take on a new role.
On the other hand, awareness connects us to our inner self and develops a higher state of being. It makes me question how I can live more meaningfully.
I have been reflecting on a high level and found the pillars below the ones making the general approach to a meaningful life:
1 — Belonging
True belonging springs from love. It lives in moments among individuals and experiences. You can choose to cultivate belonging with others.
2 — Purpose
Using your strength or skills to serve the world relates to purpose — the need to do. We flow to seek and obtain in life. It is our very being to do. It carries significance — the need to make sense. Without something worthwhile to do, we tend to flounder. It gives us motivation and determination. It is what drives us forward.
3—Transcendence
It means feeling connected to a higher reality and behaving and relating to oneself, significant others, human beings in general, other species, nature, and the cosmos.
For example, when I create value through writing, designing life-centred outcomes, and capturing images experiencing beautiful details of the world or cultures, I connect on my travels or while I am living there. I usually tend to lose the sense of time and place.
How about you?
4—Find your storytelling
The story of how you tell yourself helps you to understand how you became the person you are becoming. Redemption stories, as the bad, redeemed by the good, reflecting carefully can lead to new insights and wisdom.
Essentially, the opportunities to build meaning and make all moments matter make us spend the moments wisely.
You can’t live through a day without making an impact on the world. And what’s most important is to think about the impact of your actions on the world around you. — Jane Goodall
If we make a difference and find our uniqueness, we make moments matter. If we share the energy for purpose in life, we can give meaning to others.
