One Word, Two Ways: Image

Each week we pick a word and both do a post based off that word.  This week, the word is…Image.

I have a special affection for Google Images, in that I love it.  I also have a book called “The Yoga of the Nine Emotions: The Tantric Practice of Rasa Sadhana.”  The book centers on the practice toward achieving mastery of one’s “most important and basic” emotions: Love, Joy, Wonder, Courage, Calmness, Anger, Sadness, Fear, and Disgust.  I thought it would be interesting to do a basic Google Image search on each of these nine emotions, and select one of each to present a full spectrum image of all of them together.  So that’s what I did.

Click for image source, from top to bottom:

Love / Joy / Wonder / Courage / Calmness / Anger / Sadness / Fear / Disgust

Lately I have been wanting to write about body image but I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject. When the word image came up for our word of the day, I thought it would be a great way to start. I know I am not alone in saying that I am really tough on my body. I have had phases of extreme weight loss and extreme weight gain and I did not feel complete in either one of those places.  As the years have progressed, I am proud to say that I love and accept my body much more than I ever thought I would. But, it is an ongoing process. 

A couple of months ago, I read a post by this brilliantly strong woman. She had just had a baby and woke up early and went out for a walk.  When she reached for the top of the hill she was hiking and she heard a voice that said:

You’ve got to trust me.

When I am hungry I will tell you.
You’ll hear it in chambered echos, grumbles and moans.
DON’T FEED ME, until you hear my call.

When I am lonely I will tell you.
A lump will well up in your throat, like you’ve swallowed cotton and tears will form in your eyes.
DON’T FEED ME, try making a connection with the fine collection of friends you love.

When I am anxious I will tell you.
Your heart will beat fast, your breath will struggle to leave the lungs, and you might feel full of fire.
DON’T FEED ME, instead sit down and fight for those breaths, let the oxygen pour into you—clearing the veins and vessels, close your eyes, identify the fear that is squeezing you.

When I feel depressed I will tell you.
There will be a significant lack of energy, a slumpy reaction to bed-leaving, my mind will slow down and thoughts will become like black puffy clouds.
DON’T FEED ME, instead fill your head back up with new thoughts, ideas from books and discussions. Replace the dirty fuel in your mind with clean energy.

When I feel stressed I will tell you.
Like rubberbands squeezing around your cranium, your head throbbing, your stomach turning, your muscles tightening.
DON’T FEED ME, instead write it all out, everything you are feeling, look over the list and examine.

When I feel sick I will tell you.
Fevers, aches, pains and physical discomfort.
DON’T FEED ME, take care of me, bathe me, give me lots of water and put me to bed.

When I feel happy I will tell you.
Goosebumps infiltrate your skin, you will feel light and airy, propped up on energy, buzzing in your blood.
DON’T FEED ME, use the excess vivacity to spread your sentiments to someone else.

When I feel sensual I will tell you.
Your skin will turn pink and glow. Your mouth will involuntarily smile, your body will hum with awareness.
DON’T FEED ME, you know what to do. 

When I need exercise I will tell you.
Your legs will ache to be walked, your back will beg to be stretched, your heart will ask to be throbbed.
DON’T FEED ME, walk me. And don’t exercise me until I say so, please, or we will battle.

When I feel lazy, content, competitive, peaceful, overwhelmed, snippy, snappy, hot, cold, tired, frustrated, thirsty, full, beaming and bright I will tell you.
DON’T FEED ME, none of these sentiments require food. Excess surplus will have to be stored. I will have to make more of us—human shelves in rolls and lumps—to organize the overflow intake. Don’t make me do that, please. There are babies to feed, children to squeeze, a husband to kiss. Right now, we don’t have a lot of steam to become a storage facility as well.

But when I feel hungry I will send you a message of emptiness of stomach, dizziness of head, a sensation in your mouth extending into your throat that reads, I NEED FOOD, PLEASE DON’T STARVE ME.
Then, feed me.

Though in all those instances, I would probably do the opposite of feed myself, her post is a great reminder for me to listen to my body and remember to love it unconditionally.