Listen to your body
For within you
There is wisdom.
Your tendons will tell you when to go and when to stop;
Your bones discern between strengthening and damaging;
Your nerves will guide you through aloneness and togetherness;
They will find for you the right noise, flavour, heat and pressure.
Your spine will point out unsolved matters;
In tension, bring release through wracking sobs or convulsing laugher.
Those slack muscles know your sadness;
Those veins know all that brings you alive.
In the flame of anger and rapidity of anxiety,
Your blood provides energy for action
As moment by moment, your lungs invite you
To listen.
And when your mind hears those gentle summons
And recognises
Truth
Do not ignore its quiet tones
For everything is here to help you.
Tears will not kill you;
Your body can withstand the full force of pain that is seen and known.
You need not be afraid.
Only beware:
Messages that are unheeded and avoided grow faint
Letting those vital prompts vanish
Slipping away
Until all that is left is emptiness, silence, pretending and guesswork.
And even then there is hope.
Listen to the sinews in your shoulders,
Hear the ligaments holding limbs together,
Pay attention to the soles of your feet
And tune in to the tips of your fingers:
There is healing in your body, and forgiveness.
Listen to your body
For within you
There is wisdom.
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