Health and Cleanliness

Mike and I were reading some Epictetus this morning and the message was about the need to treat our bodies with care and respect. At the time the Cynics were proliferating a message of denial of the body was closer to holiness. This "doctrine" continued into the early Christian church with St. Augustine and is somewhat rampant today.

There seems to be a marked dichotomy in society of those who obsess over their bodies; plastic surgery, 7 gym visits a week, etc. and those who neglect their bodies; excessive weight gain, lack of hygiene, lack of care over appearance. There must be a balance between the two!
We only have one body while we are in this life, it requires constant care and attention, appropriate food, regular cleaning and care. The trick is to care for out bodies without obsessing, allowing ourselves to age but to age gracefully. For every individual the type of care differs, some dye their hair, while others allow the salt and pepper to slowly appear on its natural schedule. I think you need to be true to how you feel about the standards of appearance you wish to set for yourselves. I have joined a gym but my goal is not to lose every pound I have gained through five pregnancies and many years to get back to my pre-marriage weight. My goal is to be healthy and vital and eat sensibly with the least amount of additives and chemicals as possible.

My motivation for taking care of myself is to have as long a life as possible to share with my husband and family. I guess the decision for everyone is to decide what level of care needs to be kept and strive to maintain our bodies to the best of our ability.

Life and health to all!