369. Bodily Needs

There are moments when the pressures of life become too much to bear and I need to take a break. I need to step out of the chaos of the world and find some calm and quiet, if only to give my senses an opportunity for respite. Sometimes it’s not just my senses that need relief but my entire body that is in need of care.

I want to give my attention to my own needs but I feel guilty about doing so. I know that it’s important for my attention to remain open and that closing myself off from the world will reduce my sensitivity to it. When my attention is limited, my ability to see what is needed and necessary is limited, which means my compassion will also be limited.

But open attention doesn’t mean forcing myself to pay attention to absolutely everything. While it’s often the case that I need to see more of what’s happening in the world around me, I also need to be able to look inwards at myself, including at my own body. If my body has needs that aren’t being met, I will suffer, which means it will be more difficult for me to keep my attention free and respond to need with compassion.

There will always be instances when my body must take priority over all else and dominate my attention. By seeing my bodily needs more clearly, I allow for self-compassion to arise, which will help meet those needs. At the same time, I can’t allow this to turn into a way of avoiding the world. When all of my attention must go to one place, it must go there only temporarily.

Allowing my attention to be open and free means allowing it to wander back and forth between the self and the world, without imposing control or restrictions. It’s when my attention is fully free that I can attend to the needs of my body just as well as any other need I discover. As a result, my compassion will never be limited to one side, but always be directed towards both self and world.